1. Joseph Kastl Knollenberg was an American politician from Michigan.
17 Facts About Joe Knollenberg
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Joe Knollenberg was raised a Catholic and grew up on a farm along with 12 siblings.
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Joe Knollenberg graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 1955, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
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Joe Knollenberg then spent more than three decades as an insurance agent.
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Joe Knollenberg served as chairman of the Oakland County Republican Party from 1978 to 1982.
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In 1992, Joe Knollenberg signed on as campaign manager for Congressman William Broomfield, who had represented most of Oakland County in Congress since 1957.
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Joe Knollenberg then asked Knollenberg to run in his place in the 11th District, which had been renumbered from the 18th District after the 1990 census.
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Joe Knollenberg was reelected six times without serious difficulty, never dropping below 55 percent of the vote.
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In 2006 Joe Knollenberg faced a tough campaign against Democrat Nancy Skinner, a liberal talk show host in the Detroit area, ultimately winning by six points.
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Two years later, in a more difficult election cycle for Republican candidates, Joe Knollenberg lost re-election to former state senator Gary Peters.
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Joe Knollenberg supported the North American Free Trade Agreement and led the campaign against President George W Bush's steel tariffs.
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Joe Knollenberg was challenged in the 2006 Republican primary by moderate Republican Patricia Godchaux.
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In January 2006, Congressman Joe Knollenberg announced his intent to seek re-election in 2008.
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On November 4,2008, Joe Knollenberg was defeated, garnering 43 percent of the vote to Peters' 52 percent.
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Joe Knollenberg's candidacy was likely hurt by a heavy Democratic tide in the Detroit area; Barack Obama carried Oakland County by a 15-point margin, six percentage points more than Peters' margin over Joe Knollenberg.
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Joe Knollenberg had two sons, Stephen and Martin with his wife, Sandra "Sandie" Moco, whom he married in September 1962 at St Frances Cabrini Church in Allen Park, Michigan.
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Joe Knollenberg died on February 6,2018, due to complications from Alzheimer's disease at a care facility in Troy, Michigan at the age of 84.