Mike Knopf is in many ways an ordinary teen. He plays high school football, works a part-time job and has a girlfriend. But in politics, he is different. In a year when most young voters are supporting Barack Obama, the 17-year-old from Dubuque, Iowa, is a huge John McCain supporter. He was the youngest delegate at the Republican National Convention held in September in St. Paul.
The 6’2” high school linebacker has the tall, lean build of a point guard and easily fit in with the other delegates in the hallways of the Xcel Energy Center. Mike wore a tie, nice dress shirt and his dress shoes. As he worked his phone nonstop, I walked past him a few times, because he was hard to distinguish from the older delegates.
He’d like to be Iowa’s governor some day, maybe even President. As the party’s youngest delegate, he was interviewed a lot by television and newspaper reporters and figures it was good experience for his future career.
“It’s been the greatest time of my life. This is my most memorable experience I had in the 17 years of my life,” he said. “I’m sure it’s not going to hit me until it’s all over, but it’s history — I’m the youngest delegate in the country.”
Growing up in Iowa, which has the earliest caucuses during presidential races, Mike lives where President candidates spend a lot of time campaigning. It was easy for Mike to get turned on to politics.
“I live in eastern Iowa where the candidates cycle through like hot cakes, so I got a chance to see what the campaign trail was like,” said Mike. Becoming a national delegate was a hard job and took a lot of dedication, a task Mike was up for.“I went to state delegation meetings with leaders form the party and had political training that required a lot of time,” said Mike, a high school senior. “My final step was to make a speech in front of the delegation.”
Mike needed help on the path to becoming a delegate. A local Republican activist, who is one of Mike’s mom’s best friends, provided guidance for Mike.
“She helped me through city caucuses, county conventions. She has just been there all the way with me. She is my biggest politic influence,” he said.
Mike still has time for a normal teen life. “I have to manage my time very carefully, with volunteering at my county G.O.P as much as possible. I also have to manage life-guarding, which is my job.”
In music, Mike has a wide range of favorites. “I listen to a lot of classical, Billy Joel and Elvis, but I also listen to a lot of Lil Wayne,” he said.
Leading up to the election, Mike plans to do more work for the party to help gain more young voters.
“I have a speech at one of the local colleges in my community, and it’s kind of a rally type of thing to get young people in college interested in politics,” Mike said.
Mike would like to continue with a higher role in the party in the future. “I really want to be a part of something that changes the way legislature is, and help improve laws,” he said.
He turns 18 on Halloween, and looks forward to voting for the first time Nov. 4.
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