A surprising name has been thrown out as a potential Republican contender for Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow’s Senate seat next year: Kid Rock. The rocker’s name came up as a possible candidate at a Michigan Republican Party convention last weekend. There have been no official decisions announced as of yet.
Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, once said he tended to vote Republican but qualified himself as “more libertarian” to Rolling Stone in 2013. But he has supported several major Republican candidates.
The Michigan native threw his support behind Mitt Romney in 2012 and supported Ben Carson in the 2016 presidential election. He later switched to Donald Trump as he became the party’s nominee.
Rock — or Ritchie — even started to sell pro-Trump merchandise in his official online store including t-shirts with the phrase “God, Guns & Trump” in red, white and blue-colored text.
Stabenow has been in office since 2000 and Inside Elections With Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race Solid Democrat, but Republicans feel more confident after Trump’s win there in 2016 — the first GOP presidential candidate to win there since 1988.