Courtesy photo
GOP gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley.
Getting arrested by the FBI is usually a death knell for political candidates.
But not for Ryan Kelley, a Republican gubernatorial candidate who was arrested by the FBI last week for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
With less than two months before the primary election, Kelley is now leading the pack of five Republican candidates vying to face Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November, according to an EPIC-MRA of Lansing poll.
In the poll, conducted between June 10 and 13, Kelley was ahead, with 17% saying they preferred the alleged insurrectionist.
Kalamazoo-area chiropractor Garrett Soldano came in second with 13%, followed by 12% for Bloomfield Hills businessman Kevin Rinke, 5% for North Shores businesswoman Tudor Dixon, and 1% for Farmington Hills pastor Ralph Rebandt.
But it’s still anyone’s race. The survey found that 45% of likely Republican voters are still undecided.
The primary was derailed last month after five of the 10 candidates failed to make the ballot because they turned in thousands of fraudulent signatures on their nominating petitions. One of them, former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, is launching a long-shot write-in campaign.
According to the poll, 7% said they support a write-in candidate.
Only time will tell whether Kelley can retain the momentum.
He’s accused of joining a mob the stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. He faces four misdemeanor counts of knowingly entering or remaining in restricting buildings or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, knowingly engaging in an act of physical violence against person or property in a restricted building or grounds, and willfully injuring or committing depredation against any property in the U.S.
Kelley rose in popularity among the far right after organizing an armed protest against Whitmer’s COVID-19 restrictions at the state Capitol in 2020.
Stay connected with Detroit Metro Times. Subscribe to our newsletters, and follow us on Google News, Apple News, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, or TikTok.
