U.S. Sen. Ted Nugent? ‘Wango Tango’ Your Head Around That

Kid Rock’s name had barely been floated as a possible candidate for a U.S. Senate seat that has eluded Michigan Republicans when another Metro Detroit-born rocker — you had to see this coming, Ted Nugent — said he might toss his trademark camouflage cowboy hat in the ring. No, really.

To be clear, Kid Rock — Robert Ritchie when he’s not on stage — hasn’t actually announced he will try to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow in the 2018 midterm elections. His name merely was thrown out as a suggestion of someone who could, ahem, rock the conservative base the way President Donald Trump did in the 2016 presidential election.

Theodore Anthony “Ted” Nugent — Uncle Ted to his fans and a best friend forever of the National Rifle Association — wrote on his Facebook page in some words you don’t want your granny hearing that he might seek the seat.

“If these GOP sonsabitches don’t get it right this time I will come charging in as the ultimate WE THE PISSED OFF PEOPLE Mr. FixIt Constitutional firebreathing s---kicker from hell,” he wrote. (We corrected some spelling.)

The post was in response to a West Michigan Politics blog post including Nugent as a possible candidate, along with more traditional Republican politicians like U.S. Rep. Fred Upton of St. Joseph, former state senator Randy Richardville of Monroe, state Sen. Rick Jones of Grand Ledge, state Rep. Tom Barrett of Charlotte, Macomb County conservative activist Jared Maynard, Michigan GOP co-chair and real estate developer Jeff Sakwa of Birmingham, and former congresswoman and current Macomb County Public Works Director Candice Miller.

Michigan hasn’t elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 1994. Stabenow was elected in 2000.

Nugent’s possible candidacy is more than just idle Facebook chatter. He told The Daily Caller News Foundation, which runs a conservative news site, that he would consider a Senate run if it would “provide meaningful upgrades and improvements in the American quality of life for the most productive and truly needy amongst us.”

Nugent, who now lives in Texas but frequently travels back to Michigan, will be 70 by the time the midterms roll around and said he would need the “complete support” of his family.

See Also

• Sen. Kid Rock? Michigan GOP Official Thinks It Would Be ‘Awesome’
• Kid Rock Shoots A Mountain Lion; Ted Nugent Cackles With Joy

Political consultant Scott Hagerstrom of East Lansing, who ran Trump’s ground campaign in Michigan and who some would like to see in the race himself, told The Daily Caller he would “certainly welcome (Nugent) giving it a hard look.”

“Ted Nugent is definitely someone who is in Michigan, he is involved in the public debates here, and he was really there for Donald Trump when he was needed,” Hagerstrom said. “Ted would be the perfect person to tie together the Trump coalition with the Reagan Democrats and blue collar Democrats down river and in Macomb County.”

Western Michigan Politics blogger Brandon Hall wrote that “Kid Rock running may be more of a dream than a reality,” but Nugent could “turn the race upside down.”

“He’d have instant grassroots support, name ID, and some money to throw around as well. Nugent would dominate Debbie Stabenow in the media also,” Hall wrote. “And just imagine the debates!”

Wes Nakagiri, a Livingston County Tea Party activist and a Michigan Republican Party central committee member, suggested Kid Rock as a Senate candidate at a state GOP gathering last weekend. Nakagiri said besides the rocker’s huge name recognition, he “would get rid of that stodgy Republican image,” the Detroit Free Press reported.

Kid Rock and gun-loving Nugent both love their man Trump. Nugent opened for him at a pre-election rally in Sterling Heights, and Kid Rock released pro-Trump merchandise, including a shirt that carries the message “God, Guns and Trump.”

Kid Rock has been silent on the issue of whether he would accept if drafted to run for the Senate, but state GOP spokeswoman Sarah Anderson told Fox News he “would be awesome” as a senator. While no one has reached out to him as a possible candidate, Alexander said she “wouldn’t be surprised if there was a movement for him to run.”

Photo of Ted Nugent by Mike Licht via Flickr Commons