The rocker told The Washington Post he is considering a run for the Republican Party nomination in 2016. As we all remember Nugent was quite active in the 2012 election cycle, endorsing Mitt Romney, supporting gun rights, and even attending the State of the Union address. Although Nugent has had more public attention since last election cycle, it has not always been good publicity. From The Hill:
But the rocker has also caused a fair share of controversy, earning a visit from the Secret Service after saying that if the president was reelected, he would be "dead or in jail." He's also used expletives to describe both former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
In his interview with The Washington Post Nugent said,
"Things are just so wrong in the country now," Nugent said. "And I know that my answers would make things wonderful, unless you just refuse to produce, and then I'd recommend that you move to Canada. Or Illinois."
“The Republicans can’t possibly promise more s---t than the Democrats do,” he said. “We can’t possibly offer more door prizes to the voters.”
Nugent's wife, Shemane, also told the paper that fans are "constantly asking him to run."
And it appears, it may not just be his musical fans that will be supporting a potential presidential run. Mike Huckabee, a former Republican candidate for president and fellow conservative seems to be onboard:
But if he does enter the race, he could have a prominent Republican ally: former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. A former Republican presidential candidate himself, Huckabee told the Post that "if he runs, I'll go help him."
“Ted says things in public that I wouldn’t even say in private, but what people look for more than anything is authenticity,” Huckabee said. “I’m probably as strait-laced a Republican as there is, but I’d rather be around Ted Nugent, who has an absolute honesty about him, than a so-called values guy who is secretly bedding down half his staff. I think you’d be surprised at how many evangelicals respond to him.”
It will definitely be interesting to see what he decides to do. Although Nugent stands for the 2nd amendment and many other conservative positions, we must also keep in mind that he has zero political experience. Can you imagine a Republican primary debate featuring Ted Nugent alongside the likes of Marco Rubio, Chris Christie or Ron Paul? This could be an interesting one, folks!