Kid Rock Donates $120,000 Raised by Fake Senate Campaign
It appears some good has come out of Kid Rock’s faux Senate campaign. A publicist for the musician revealed he will be donating the money he raised to a like-minded cause.
Last summer, American rock artist Robert Ritchie, popularly known as Kid Rock, publicly flirted the idea of a U.S. Senate run in his home state of Michigan. The website kidrockforsenate.com was established and Rock confirmed its authenticity on Twitter, along with a picture of a campaign sign.
He even made a statement on his website on July 26 indicating that he would make a final decision on a campaign run in about six weeks time.
Media reports of a possible Rock candidacy garnered waves of public attention. The musician was also able to generate thousands of dollars in sales from “Kid Rock for US Senate” merchandise, raking in a total of $122,000.
Following the unprecedented rise of President Donald Trump — a real estate mogul and television personality who successfully entered the White House — the American public was willing to take the rocker’s intentions seriously. Speaking on CSPAN panel, the leader of a major super PAC aligned with the Senate GOP openly encouraged Rock to take the plunge.
“And so I certainly wouldn’t count (Kid Rock) out. We’d be pretty interested in his candidacy,” said Steven Law, according to U.S. News. “So if you’re watching, Kid, we hope you run.”
Better yet, polling indicated that he would run a competitive race. A survey conducted around that time showed Rock trailing Michigan Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow by only eight percentage points.
However, after more than three months of teasing a Senate run, Rock revealed it was simply a publicity stunt.
“(Expletive) no, I’m not running for Senate. Are you (expletive) kidding me?” Rock said while appearing on Howard Stern’s radio program, according to the Detroit News. “Who couldn’t (expletive) figure that out?”
Rock admitted that his Senate teasing was all part of a promotional stunt for his new album, “Sweet Southern Sugar,” which was released in November.
The 47-year-old rocker explained the move was “the most creative thing I’ve ever done, and I got to see everybody’s true colors,” adding that he received support from all over the world.
Amid his campaign’s “exploratory phase” in July, Rock stated that money raised from the sale of bumper stickers, political yard signs, hats and T-shirts would benefit a nonprofit organization that promotes voter registration.
“Not only can I raise money for this critical cause, but I can help get people registered to vote at my shows,” he explained on his blog.
It was revealed earlier this month where exactly that $122,000 has gone.
All proceeds raised have been donated to CRNC Action, a voter-registration organization affiliated with the College Republicans.
“All of the money raised from the political merchandise was sent directly to CRNC Action. The total is approximately 100k,” said publicist Jay Jones.
The executive director of CRNC Action, Ted Dooley, confirmed that a donation of around $122,000 was given last month. Dooley also confirmed that his organization staffed the voter-registration tables at Rock’s concerts over the summer.
“The work was pretty much like other voter registration work we do — set up and man voter registration booths, collect the registration forms, and submit them — except a lot more fun,” he explained.
For anyone still hoping to purchase “Kid Rock for US Senate” merchandise, the Warner Bros. Records website says it has sold out of bumper stickers and yard signs, however, baseball caps and T-shirts are still available.
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