Rhino Factoids: Alice Cooper’s “Wild Party”

29 years ago today, Alice Cooper decided to stick it to “the man” and throw his hat into the ring or the governorship of Arizona, but instead of declaring himself to be a representative of either the Democratic or Republican parties, he instead went way independent by citing himself as representing a different party altogether.

“I’m definitely a write-in candidate,” Cooper told People Magazine at the time. “Hey, I’m a native. I’m a registered voter. I represent the Wild Party, and I even have a campaign slogan: ‘Alice Cooper: A Troubled Man for Troubled Times.”

According to Joe Rhatigan’s Bizarre Politics, Cooper had a backup slogan, too – “A Messed-Up Governor for a Messed-Up State” – but as it happens, he never had the opportunity to whip out either of them. You see, the only reason the topic came up was because Arizona’s governor at the time had found himself on the receiving end of a recall petition, but when he was impeached and removed from office, the secretary of state took over his position, leaving an election unnecessary.

It’s probably all for the best: Cooper later claimed that he’d only been kidding about running, anyway.