Kid Rock for Senate, or just for publicity?
If Robert James Ritchie — also known by his rap-rock moniker, Kid Rock — is running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, he hasn’t informed the Michigan Republican Party. Of course, he could be running as a Democrat. But that would be a strange turn, given that Kid Rock endorsed then-candidate Donald Trump and then paid him a memorable visit at the White House after Trump won the election. So what to make of Ritchie’s new website, “Kid Rock For Senate,” which he said in social media postings on Wednesday was “real” and would be followed by “a major announcement in the near future”? The website currently features a photo of Ritchie sitting in a chair next to a stuffed deer. The bottom of the site has a phrase: “Kid Rock for US Senate 2018.” But it is the center of the site that is most curious: A “Buy Now” link (stashed next to a widget flashing phrases like “Pimp of the Nation” and “Born Free”) which takes viewers to a Warner Bros. Records website that sells merchandise related to a Kid Rock-for-Senate run. Ritchie has not filed official paperwork declaring his candidacy, according to a search of the Federal Election Commission website. One other wrinkle: It doesn’t appear that the checkout process for Ritchie’s merchandise asks for a purchaser’s occupation, which according to a commission spokeswoman, is required for disclosures of contributions more than $200. If this is a publicity stunt — which it may be, given the lack of concrete steps that a serious candidate would normally take — no one is saying. Warner Bros. isn’t saying if this is a publicity stunt, referring questions to Ritchie’s team. Given that it is hosting the online store, it likely stands to profit if it is, indeed, a stunt. Ritchie’s manager declined to elaborate on his Facebook post, and referred questions about the commission regulations to Ritchie’s spokesman, who also declined.