The Republican presidential candidate is said to be considering a request from Lorne Michaels, and would be the first candidate since 1996 to host the show.

Saturday Night Live has had plenty of Mitt Romney impressions. Now the show’s creator wants the real thing.

SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels has offered the Republican presidential candidate hosting duties on the show, and Romney is considering taking it, reports the New York Times.

“He was funny on Letterman, giving the Top Ten list,” longtime SNL writer Jim Downey told the Times.

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While SNL has had fun portraying the drawn out Republican race as circus-like, the staff acknowledges it has been difficult to rival 2008 and Tina Fey’s popular turn as Sarah Palin. Having the real Romney could open up new possibilities to a race that, from a comedic standpoint, risks growing stale.

“Sarah Palin was a once-in-a-lifetime situation,” head writer Seth Meyers said. “She was incredibly magnetic and came with a built-in catchphrase.”

Since the 2000 election, nearly all presidential candidates have appeared on SNL, either live or on tape, but as the Huffington Post points out, it hasn’t been since Steve Forbes in 1996 that a candidate actually hosted. Forbes dropped out of the race relatively early on, while Romney is all but assured to be the Republican nominee.

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There are assumed to be just two dates remaining this season with no hosts yet attached, though Romney could potentially host in the fall. Stay tuned.