Is Kid Rock Running for Office?
Kid Rock could be the next non-establishment outsider tapped by the Republican Party to run for office.
While it bears mentioning that this story is absolutely nothing but a rumor for now, the political site Roll Call claims that at the Michigan Republican Party's convention over the weekend of Feb. 10-12, the outspoken right-wing rocker — whose real name is Bob Ritchie — was floated as a potential challenger for Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat who's held her seat since 2000.
Ritchie's political leanings have been a part of his public persona for years. In 2012, he campaigned on behalf of Republican candidate Mitt Romney, although as he told Rolling Stone the following year, he did so partly as a means of using Romney's comparatively centrist message to help quell what he saw as a rising radical fringe on either side of the aisle.
"Look, I tend to vote Republican, but I don't like the hardcore views on either side, and I'm not in bed with anybody," he stressed. "I'd probably be more Libertarian, but I'm a firm believer you have to pick a side. I can't be playing the middle. If you think differently, that's fine. I'd love to grab a beer and hear why you think that way."
As Roll Call notes, Rock's political activity took a less polite turn during the 2016 election, when he expressed his support for Donald Trump's campaign by selling an assortment of lewd apparel through his official online store. If he were to run, it's tempting to wonder what his own campaign gear would look like — make America Bawitdaba again, anyone?
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