Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert formed a Super PAC earlier this year to mock the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that opened the floodgates for unlimited, anonymous money in politics. And now he’s running for president.

On his show Thursday night, Colbert announced the formation of an exploratory committee “for my possible candidacy for president of the United States of South Carolina.”

Which means he has to play the same game all the other candidates are playing, pretending he’s not “coordinating” with his Super PAC even though it’s staffed by his friends and coworkers:

With Jon Stewart at the helm, Colbert reportedly having received donations from tens of thousands of people, and TV time cheap in South Carolina, the potential is there for the comedian to actually make a difference in the Republican primary race.

If he’s serious.