It’s no joke. Stephen Colbert is running for President of the United States.

Colbert made the big announcement on Tuesday. First, he appeared as a guest on The Daily Show, where he announced he would be making a decision about whether or not to make an announcement. Taking a stab at BFF Jon Stewart, he said the official announcement would take place on a more prestigious show.

15 minutes later, that more prestigious show turned to be his own. With a shout of “I’m doing it!” Colbert released balloons that cascaded over him, as is his customary self-celebrating gag.

Colbert will be running solely in his hometown of South Carolina, as a “favourite son” of the state. And the surprises kept coming: Colbert will run with both the Democrat and Republican Parties.

According to CNN, Colbert could actually succeed in doing both (though, inevitably he’ll lose, even if it’s just to himself). There is no rule against him running in both primaries, but it will have a hefty price. It costs just $2,500 to be put on the Democrat ballot but $35,000 to run as a Republican. He must also actively campaign for the Democrats if he is to be allowed to run.

The primaries will be held in mid-January. Colbert’s worshiping fans have previously won him numerous honours (like having a Canadian minor league hockey mascot named after him) with their bombardment of voting. So it’s safe to say that the race for President just got a lot more interesting.