Colbert, gauging by his typically acidic standards, has thus far pulled his punches. And in hosting high-dollar fundraisers within an electoral structure he has lampooned so deliciously in the past, Colbert is entering particularly novel territory. Throughout the 2012 presidential campaign cycle, he skewered a campaign finance system laden with contradictions, one that permits political players to bend the parameters of credibility without technically breaking the law…

Colbert Busch is embracing her TV star brother’s high profile in more subtle ways. Two of the five photographs featured in the biography section of her campaign website, for instance, show the candidate with her famous sibling. And she is well aware of the massive attention that his efforts to promote her candidacy will continue to generate.

The campaign would not say whether Colbert will stump in public with his sister over the next month, but there is no doubt that his efforts on her behalf will be felt deeply, even if he sticks to his vow not to promote her candidacy on the Monday-through-Thursday TV show.

“I would be a tad surprised if he didn’t come down to the district to help his sister,” said South Carolina Democratic strategist Tyler Jones, who is not directly involved in the race. “But to be honest, I don’t think it will matter. She’s an enormously strong candidate with or without her brother. He may be able to bring in some additional national money, but Elizabeth will win this race on her own merits and record of being a fiscally conservative businesswoman who knows how to create jobs in the Lowcountry.”