According to Harve Daily News, Jacob announced late last week that he plans to make a bid to run in the Montana House November 2016 election.

While Jacob identifies as a “hardcore political nerd” his friends call him something else: “POTUS.” They’re joking of course, Jacob’s got another 17 years before he can think about running for President.

Jacob’s only seventeen-years-old, but he probably knows more about state politics than most forty-year-olds; he’s got local Montana politics in his blood.

Jacob’s great-grandfather, Rex Manuel, was a representative from Fairfield, so growing up, Jacob’s great-grandmother would tell him stories about local politics and legislative sessions.

It also didn’t hurt that Jacob had former Democratic senator Greg Jergeson to mentor him. Jacob recognized Jergeson while bagging his groceries at Gary & Leo’s Fresh Foods, and after the two talked politics, Jergeson took Jacob under his wing. This relationship, along with his support from Representative John Musgrove, helped accelerate his entrance into the political sphere.

Jacob began attending Democratic Party meetings and volunteering for local party leaders. In April, Jacob was elected vice chair for the Hill County Democratic Party. Talk about extracurriculars.

Jacob plans to attend Montana State University-Northern in the fall while he runs his campaign. While he hasn’t started fundraising yet, Jacob pledged to run a clean campaign free from “dark money,” SuperPACs, and personal attacks on his opponents.

And his opponents? Jacob is vying for the seat of first-term Republican Stephanie Hess, who is expected to seek re-election.

Jacob knows that his age will come up during the election, but he sees it as a strength — he’ll have to work extra hard to gain people’s respect.

Plus, he’ll be 18 in January.

(Image via Facebook)

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  By Nicole Levin