An aide to Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) tells CNN’s Peter Hamby he’s open to a presidential run if none of the other contenders proves sufficiently popular — or conservative — enough. DeMint will address a forum hosted by Rep. Steve King (R., Iowa) in the Hawkeye State on March 26, though advisor Matt Hoskins insists in an e-mail, “Senator DeMint has absolutely no plans to run for president. He’s going to Iowa to talk about the conservative agenda — nothing more, nothing less.”

Among DeMint’s advantages is the fact that his home state is one of the four early contests. Terry Sullivan, a South Carolina Republican consultant, muses, “He would certainly be the odds on favorite here.”

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