This last weekend I was given the opportunity to follow Margo and Mitch Knutson around while they attended the 2010 GOP State Assembly in Loveland Colorado. The purpose of the time I spent with them was to get an inside look at what a first year delegate’s experience would be like at this years assembly. Before I want to make it clear that I’m not endorsing any candidate here, this is simply my observations as I documented the Knutson’s experience.

Friday night, once I finally made it up to Loveland, I met up with Mitch and Margo at the BBQ. They were talking with Jeff one of the political directors for the McInnis camp. Of course the topic was around politics, how beautiful the day was and how excited and nervous Margo was for the following day, more on that later. Ken Buck was standing a few feet away and Margo asked if I’d ever heard Ken speak, I said no. So Mitch and Margo went over, taking me along and introduced me to the candidate.

Ken Buck seemed very relaxed, and was quick to get my name and contact info to his PR guy,so I can receive the press releases from the Buck camp. In my opinion this is actually very important, for local bloggers to be on, since we know that the local mainstream media has giving Buck the cold shoulder, well at least until he won in a landslide victory the following day.

At this time all the candidates were headed over to their suites at the Embassy Suites in Loveland, a fantastic setting for this event I might add. Having forgotten their camera back in Franktown, I offered to document the Knutson’s experience that weekend. They obliged, and the many pictures you see below are the result of the next two days.

On Saturday, Margo seemed nervous as she setup to get ready for a fairly big announcement, something that they hadn’t told many people. Of course I knew what she was up to. Once the delegation was assembled, the speeches commenced, the excitement and cheers were offered every time a platitude was raised or rally cry yelled. It was great. One by one the candidates got up and stage, stumped, rallied the crowd and begged for votes and support. Then I saw the Knutson’s were called out of the assembly.

They were asked to head up stairs to the private suites of the stadium. I followed as we were ushered up to the private suite of Scott Mcinnis. You see Mitch and Margo are Co-Founders of the Franktown based Coffee 4 Conservatives, Margo is also an activist with the South-Denver 912 group, both ardent supporters of this swelling grassroots conservative movement. Prior to this day the Knutson’s had been outspoken supporters of Dan Maes, in fact they’ve even been generous financial supporters of Dan’s campaign. For their own reason’s, Mitch and Margo had come to the conclusion that they needed to support Scott McInnis for his gubernatorial bid.

I’m not here to defend them, I will say this however, they didn’t come to this decision easily. They spent a lot of time with both candidates, and they came to the conclusion that they would back Scott. This is what brought us to the suite. Margo was preparing to announce that she and Mitch support McInnis in a very public way. Margo was preparing to take the stage to nominate McInnis for the Governorship of Colorado, and she would do this on stage in front of thousands of people.

This was exciting, and clearly nerve racking for her. She was nervous and paced down the hallway as she practiced her speech. (see the pictures below) Mitch and Margo were able to spend a few moments to collect themselves before going down to be on stage for the nomination. I of course gaining amazing access to the stage, followed them down.

Margo took the stage. In an exhilarating moment not only was she speaking in front of thousands, she was coming out as a supporter for Scott McInnis for the first time in public. Speaking to many people later that day, this truly was a shocking moment. She spoke eloquently, passionately and had a great time as she stumped for Scott. The speech was short and to the point, and I know that she accomplished exactly what she set out to do. Mitch was right behind her the whole time, I know that he was beaming with pride for his lovely wife.

And just like that 12 minutes later everyone was rushed off the stage, and then their delegate duties kicked in. It was time to vote. Their duty to their county was quickly done for the day. I followed up with both of them later and was able to ask a few more questions.

1. Going into the Assembly, how excited were you to be a delegate for the first time?

I was extremely excited to be a state delegate for the first time and apprehensive since I’d never been involved before.  The whole experience was surreal.

2. What were you expecting going into the weekend?

I was expecting to talk to all the candidates, to run into other delegates and alternates I knew, to see a lot of grass-roots folks and expected the delegates to step up and vote for really strong leaders.

3. Once you made it to Loveland, what were your initial observations?

There was a lot of energy around, people seemed truly enthused to be there, there was an excitement in the air but I believe because there were so many “new” delegates, there was a lot of “star watching” too.  I personally felt privileged to be in such an important role.

4, During the BBQ, Mitch made an observation that everybody was picking up their own trash, what can you add to that observation?

Conservatives/Republicans respect their environment and it shows in any scenario.

5. As Co-Founders of Coffee 4 Conservatives and out spoken supporters for the grassroots conservative movement, what were some of your criteria for vetting candidates?

For me personally, I want to know if a candidate is a fiscal conservative, what his experience level is for the job he or she is aspiring to, what their traditional family values are, how does he/she look at the Constitution in upholding the founding principles, what is their “faith” background, how can they bring improvement to the job at hand – their game plan so to speak but I also don’t expect perfection – that’s unrealistic.

6. Once your vetting process started what were your biggest surprises during this process?

It’s not really a surprise, but I certainly was astounded how some candidates can get “very negative” with other candidates right in the same room.  I also couldn’t believe how much time and energy goes into campaigning.  I learned that the candidate “has to be on” all the time and their lives are campaigning “ALL THE TIME.”  I also learned there are some subjects that are very sensitive that candidates have difficulty answering but it was more an observation than a surprise.

7. At the assembly it was clear that your support was highly sought after. Why was that?

For me personally, I think it is due to my involvement in the grass-roots community; I am an honest and credible person who looks at the “whole picture” and not just at one piece of the puzzle and I’m genuine, which people see.  I also have been present at quite a few events over the last year and I think just face time with people contributed to that recognition.

8. Describe your experiences from the time you were invited up to the McInnis’s private box?

I was honored to be invited up there and appreciated being able to meet some of the insiders on Scott’s campaign.  It was nice to meet some of Scott’s family and to realize “he’s just a regular guy”.

9. Describe your experiences from stage of the nomination, and the speech itself.

I was very nervous once I started walking up to the stage behind the Dan Maes’ supporters.  I never waivered on my decision to support Scott — I was speaking from my heart about my position.  It was incredible looking out into the crowd and seeing all the GOP supporters; the energy was remarkable and I absolutely believe I delivered a heartfelt message to all the delegates and alternates.

10. Tell me anything else you wish to say.

The overall experience was amazing and I absolutely love being involved in the whole process.  I think I missed my calling for a career.  The educational learning I’ve received is remarkable.

11. If you’re willing to disclose, who did you vote for.

I voted for Scott McInnis, Ken Buck and JJ Ament.

For me, personally, I loved spending time with Mitch and Margo Knutson. It was an exhausting two days, but it was worth every minute in getting to know my new friends. Since those  two days, there’s been a bit of a back lash against Margo and Mitch. I say, stop the negative banter about them, if you disagree with them, fine, have a good honest conversation with them. Debate them on their stance. But don’t get negative, and certainly don’t make up lies about them. I’ve received several unsubstantiated rumors in email form with false claims about the Knutson’s and I say stop it, stop it now. Unless you really want your names and emails plastered all over this blog.

As I said at the beginning of the post, I’m not endorsing any candidate with the article, I just wanted to tell the Knutson’s story. Frankly my stance on either GOP candidate in that race has not been determined. I’m not sure what side I’m going to come down on yet.

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