Talk-radio hosts might be well-known political figures, but can they turn their popularity among listeners into a successful political campaign? Dan Caplis might soon try to figure that out. The veteran conservative radio personality, who co-hosts an afternoon show weekdays [2] with liberal counterpart Craig Silverman on KHOW-AM, says he'd like to decide by early May whether to run as a Republican for the U.S. Senate. He's already met with John Cornyn, the Texas senator who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, about a potential run. The main factor now, he says, is whether his kids (11-year-old Joe and 8-year-old Caroline) would be able to withstand the rigors of their dad running for Senate. Caplis, who's also a prominent Denver attorney [3], claims his talk-show career offers him a "tremendous starting point" from which to jump into politics, as it gives him a feel for what Coloradans want out of their elected officials--and gives Coloradans a feel for him, as well. The job has "essentially been like hosting a statewide electronic town hall for 17 years." But not many political hosts have been able to make the jump to elected office. Al Franken, who hosted an Air America [4] show before running for Senate in Minnesota, is perhaps the most prominent example (though his race is still in legal limbo [5]). But most--even Rush Limbaugh, who many consider to be the current leader of the Republican Party [6]--have stayed on the air and out of government. Certainly, Caplis would start with a degree of name recognition [7]--in the Denver-area market, at least. And there's no clear-cut front-runner for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination. (Other candidates mentioned include Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier [8], Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck [9], and failed 2006 gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez [10].) And Caplis raised his profile in last year's presidential campaign, emceeing several McCain/Palin rallies in Colorado [11]. While hosting a radio show would give Caplis a base of support from loyal listeners, it also earns a bad reputation among those who disagree with him. And opposition researchers dream of facing a candidate like Caplis, whose job is to make political (and sometimes controversial [12]) arguments on tape for three hours every weekday. "There's miles and miles and miles and miles and miles of sound bytes that people have on Dan Caplis, and I think that some of that stuff's gonna come back to haunt him," says Jay Marvin, a liberal talk host on KKZN-AM in Denver. "I know for a fact that I wouldn't run," Marvin says. "Good lord, think of all the crazy stuff I've said on the air."