At its peak, his radio show was phenomenally popular: historians state that his office received 80,000 letters per week from listeners. His listening audience was estimated to be as much as one-third of the nation. The political power of his radio show did not go unnoticed, and Coughlin was often grouped together with other radio speakers under the political umbrella of the "lunatic fringe." His listening audience did have the power to affect the outcome of elections, and Coughlin is often credited as one of the major demagogues of the 20th century for being able to influence politics through a wide audience, without actually holding a political office himself.