GOP Senate candidate John James touts the jobs his company created, but documents show it lost its tax exempt status after failing to create the jobs it promised

In 2017, as much of the nation was still nursing a major hangover following the election of President Donald Trump, there was a very real possibility that Michigan could have a celebrity-turned-politician of its own — with none other than Kid Rock, the performer from Macomb County once crowned "Boob of the Year" by Metro Times, threatening to run for one of Michigan's Senate seats. Eventually, the "Bawitdaba" singer admitted on Howard Stern's show that he had no intention of actually running, and the whole thing was just a joke meant to drum up publicity. But soon after, a different self-described "outsider" running to be the Republican candidate emerged: Army veteran and Detroit-area business leader John James.