How seriously should we be taking Kid Rock‘s claim that he’s running for U.S. Senate in 2018? There a number of reasons to believe it’s an elaborate publicity ploy–most importantly that he’s not filed any paperwork with the FEC, and selling “campaign” merch via his record label–but the Kid himself is insisting that “the press is wrong” to rule him out. Plus, ya know, stranger things have happened.
Massachusetts Senator and progressive icon Elizabeth Warren is not treating Rock’s candidacy as a joke–she’s treating it as a fundraising opportunity. As our friends at Stereogum note, Warren sent out an email blast to supporters with the subject line “Senator Kid Rock (R-MI).”
An excerpts via the Boston Herald, which obtained a copy of the email:
“Well,” she said, “maybe this is all a joke — but we all thought Donald Trump was joking when he rode down the escalator at Trump Tower and announced his campaign, too.
“And sure, maybe this is just a marketing gimmick for a new album or tour — but we all thought Donald Trump was just promoting his reality TV show, too,” she added.
It’s unclear the extent to which Warren is actually worried about Kid Rock vs. sees him as a chance to convince people to fill her campaign chest. (Probably a little of both.) Michigan is traditionally thought of as a blue state–both of its sitting senators are Democrats–but it famously flipped for Trump in the last election, providing one of the keys to his unprecedented win. If Kid Rock really is going to get his shit together to run, a victory seems like a long shot, but not an impossibility.
