Kid Rock is not taking allegations that his potential bid for U.S. Senate may run afoul of campaign laws lightly. Or maybe he is.
The “Devil Without a Cause” musician fired off a salty-tongued reply on Friday, after a lawsuit was filed suggesting that the rocker-rapper’s possible Senate run might violate campaign law, stating, in part, “go f–k yourselves.”
“I am starting to see reports from the misinformed press and the fake news on how I am in violation of breaking campaign law,” Kid Rock — real name Robert Ritchie — said in a statement provided to TheWrap on Friday. “#1: I have still not officially announced my candidacy. #2: See #1 and go fuck yourselves.”
The musician added, “Everyone else, Have a great Labor Day (I will be spending mine WORKING in one of the greatest cities in America – Grand Rapids, Michigan!!) Rock on!”
Rock’s statement came after watchdog group Common Cause filed a suit with the Federal Election Commission, claiming that there’s “reason to believe” that Rock “is a ‘candidate’ under the Federal Election Campaign Act (‘FECA’) and “violated the candidate registration and reporting requirements, contribution limits and restrictions and ‘soft money’ prohibitions of FECA.”
A letter to attorney general Jeff Sessions from Common Cause vice president, policy and litigation Paul S. Ryan on Friday further urged the Department of Justice to investigate the matter, stating, “The violations of federal campaign finance law alleged in the attached complaint pose a direct threat to democracy in the United States. We urge the Department of Justice to investigate.”
Rock signaled his intention to run for Senate in July, sharing the website kidrockforsenate.com and tweeting, “I will have a major announcement in the near future.”
Rock has been suggested as a possible Republican candidate to challenge Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who was first elected in 2000.
Shortly after teasing his candidacy, he took a page from the Donald Trump Playbook, slamming the media for supposedly spreading fake news.
“Once again the press is wrong. First of all, I’ve got 15 days from my announcement to file paperwork with the FEC! Second, I’m not signed to Warner Bros!!! – which simple fact-checking would have revealed,” the musician fumed on Facebook. “I have recently worked out a unique deal with BMG, Broken Bow, CAA and Live Nation to release music ON MY TERMS.”
He also blessed his Facebook followers with two music videos — for the songs, “Greatest Show on Earth” and “Po-Dunk” — noting that he planned to release new music while stumping for office, much like other politicians write books from the campaign trail.