Ryan Kelley polling better than ever after FBI raided his home and arrested him

Ryan Kelley, GOP Gubernatorial Candidate for Michigan, is enjoying boosts to polling and name recognition after his unjust arrest by the FBI last week.

Kelley’s home was raided by the FBI on June 9th and he was arrested right in front of his wife and children. The reason? January 6th.

Kelley was suspected of participation in the January 6th protests and charged with unauthorized entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct, knowingly engaging in an act of physical violence against a person or property, and willfully injuring property. He acknowledges being at the capitol on January 6th but states that he committed no crimes.

Although Kelley has not gone into full details on the arrest and charges yet, you can watch him talk briefly of it below:

Of course, many speculate that after the disqualification of 5 GOP Gubernatorial candidates, this arrest was yet another attempt to tank or remove a GOP competitor from the ballot. However, it has not had the desired effect.

Kelley’s name recognition and polling popularity have both experienced an intense upswing in the days following his arrest. in a poll conducted from June 10th-13th, 17% of Michigan Republicans polled named Kelley as their preferred candidate–giving him a 4% lead over any other competitor. Additionally, his name recognition and favorability are now the highest (by far) out of any GOP candidate vying for the Governor position. Only 23% of polled individuals say they do not recognize his name.

Many polled have stated that the primary reason they are planning to vote for Kelley is because of his FBI arrest over January 6th. Clearly, if the intent of the arrest was to damage his campaign, it has backfired.