No, Kid Rock Is Not Running For Senate

Over the summer, Kid Rock engaged in an obvious publicity stunt that made some people believe he was running for President. Today, he revealed just how gullible everyone who fell for it was:

Kid Rock is ending months of speculation about a possible Senate bid, reportedly saying, “F— no, I’m not running for Senate.”

“Are you f—ing kidding me? Who couldn’t figure that out?” the “All Summer Long” singer said on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM radio show on Tuesday, according to The Detroit News.

The performer, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, had flirted for months with a possible Senate run as a Republican against Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), hawking “Kid Rock for U.S. Senate” t-shirts and criticizing the Stabenow, saying Americans were “sick and tired” of “bullshit” from politicians.

The fact that some conservatives fell for this is, perhaps, the most delicious part of all of this.

FILED UNDER: 2018 Election, Congress, Entertainment, Popular Culture, US Politics,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. JohnMcC says:

    Poor Kid Rock fans! I remember my disappointment when I learned that Dan Gurney wasn’t REALLY running for President.

  2. al-Ameda says:

    For what it’s worth, it can reasonably be argued that Kid Rock
    would be a better president than Donald Trump.

  3. SenyorDave says:

    Never say never. Being an ignorant asshole is not seen as a negative (see Roy Moore).

  4. Franklin says:

    @al-Ameda: I personally didn’t know if Kid Rock was serious. In a world where Donald Trump is President, I’m not clear how anybody was sure this was just a publicity stunt.

    But I am thankful for this small dose of sanity.

  5. LaMont says:

    Just a minor distinction here Doug – In today’s political environment where Donald Trump is currently the POTUS, I wouldn’t designate anyone (from the left or right) who believed Kid Rock would run for Senate as being gullible. Gullible are the ones that looked forward to voting for him.

  6. Mister Bluster says:

    George E. Pataki: “Kid Rock is exactly the kind of candidate the GOP needs right now.”
    Steven Law: a close ally of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) “We’d be actually very interested in his candidacy. There was a poll that came out that showed him 8 points behind the incumbent, Debbie Stabenow. That’s not a bad place to start out,”

    Clearly these two chumps did not get their daily dose of Outside the Beltway
    on Monday, April 15, 2013.
    Kid Rock Embarrassed to Be a Republican

  7. Kylopod says:

    Kid Rock engaged in an obvious publicity stunt that made some people believe he was running for President.

    A walk down memory lane….

    “Donald Trump Apparently Pretending To Run For President Again” — Doug Mataconis, March 2015

    In short, I don’t take “obvious publicity stunts” so lightly anymore.

    (Also, slight correction: The rumor in this case was about Rock running for the Senate, not the presidency.)

  8. Andre Kenji says:

    So, now he will have plenty time to sing. I was so hopeful that would have an end with a Senate election.

  9. Jen says:

    The entire American political landscape is now an embodiment of Poe’s Law. I don’t know what to believe anymore.

  10. dmhlt says:

    And he’s now changed his name to “Just Kidding Rock”