From playing Rick James to playing — kingmaker?
Legendary comic Dave Chappelle is set to headline a fundraiser next week for a longshot Democratic hopeful in Michigan’s closely watched Senate race.
Tickets for the July 11 show at Saint Andrew’s Hall in Detroit benefitting Hill Harper are available on the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue and start at $500 a pop.
For $3,300, the event listing promises access to a VIP reception with Harper following the show. Under federal election rules, $3,300 is the maximum donation an individual can make to a candidate each cycle.
Harper, 58, is an actor and author best known for his appearances on “CSI:NY” and “The Good Doctor.” But come Aug. 6, he hopes to pull off his greatest role in Michigan’s Democratic primary by upsetting Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.).
While Harper has struggled against Slotkin in primary polls, receiving just 8% in the most recent survey, some political observers say he may put up impressive numbers in the heavily back Motor City.
“Slotkin is the DSCC, Chuck Schumer-anointed choice. They want her,” one senior Republican strategist based in the Midwest told The Post. “Harper thinks it’s a huge problem that Detroit has no black reps in DC. Chappelle clearly seems to think so too. But [Harper] is a Hollywood guy and has lots of famous friends. This could just be the beginning.”
“Slotkin has way more money and momentum right now,” he added. “But if Harper can maximize events like this and get his message out, Detroit could absolutely carry him to DC in November.”
“There’s so many people out here across Michigan — I’ve been to all 83 counties —folks that don’t feel represented by their federal delegation,” Harper told reporters in May.
Chappelle, 50, has come under fire from the left wing in recent years for his repeated critiques of transgenderism in his much-watched Netflix comedy specials.
However, the comic has remained a staunch Democrat, endorsing Andrew Yang in the party’s 2020 primary and reluctantly backing Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The winner of the August primary is expected to battle former GOP congressman Mike Rogers for the seat, which will be vacated by the retiring Democrat Debbie Stabenow.
