A new poll conducted by Delphi Analytica reveals one the most amazing results in recent polling history: among those told to choose between the two candidates, musician Robert Ritchie, aka Kid Rock, who is highly successful and famous for his hard-party image, including songs revolving around heavy drug use, sex with prostitutes and strippers as well as being featured in sex tapes, and incumbent Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, 54% chose Kid Rock and 46% chose Stabenow.
Among voters overall, 44% were undecided.
Even Texas Governor Greg Abbott was excited:
Kid Rock has plenty of issues that an opposing candidate might target, as Politico points out:
… the no-contest plea to charges he assaulted a DJ at a Nashville strip club, the messy divorce from Pamela Anderson … . when he told Rolling Stone of his distaste for Beyoncé (“I like skinny white chicks with big tits”) and gave the New Yorker his stance on same-sex marriage (“I don’t give a fuck if gay people get married. I don’t love anybody who acts like a fuckin’ faggot”).
But none of that stopped Kid Rock from announcing his candidacy for Stabenow’s seat in 2018; last week he revealed he was considering a campaign against her.
Of course, his website www.kidrockforsenate.com, links to a merchandise store hosted by Warner Bros. Records, and Ritchie just released two new singles from his forthcoming album.
Politico added, “Not a single prominent Republican in Michigan told us they’d heard from Ritchie or his associates about a campaign.”
But he’s wealthy enough; he has donated seven-figure sums to charity. He’s a man of the people: he capped ticket prices to his concerts at $20 so working class fans could attend. He met Mitt Romney in 2012 when Romney asked for his endorsement; the next day he endorsed Romney; he later said Romney was “the most decent mother**ker I’ve ever met in my life.”
Dennis Lennox, a Republican political consultant in Michigan, theorized, “Presuming Kid Rock doesn’t get caught in bed with a little boy, or beat up a woman between now and August 2018, he’s going to win the nomination if he gets in. I think there’s no question about that. I think he’s the prohibitive favorite if he gets in.”
Debbie Stabenow has thoroughly trounced the last two candidates who challenged her; she has over $4 million in her campaign account.
Democratic strategist Joshua Pugh, once the state party’s communications director, said, “Some Democrats in D.C. are freaking out because he would scramble the playbook, It would scramble the playbook. But I’m still not concerned if I’m Debbie Stabenow.”
But Saul Anuzis, former chairman of the Michigan GOP, countered, “The fact that he’s non-traditional is appealing to a lot of people. Obviously it scares others who want someone more predictable. But if you’re going to beat an entrenched candidate like Debbie Stabenow in a purple state, you need to do something different. He’s well-liked in Michigan. He’s a hometown darling. He’s got deep connections to Detroit. He’s done a lot throughout the state. Anybody who’s writing him off is making a mistake.”