Good Morning, Northville, From Local Republicans Chosen to Attend GOP National Convention

In August, will head to Tampa, FL for the Republican National Convention where she'll very likely hear her uncle Mitt Romney accept the Republican nomination for president.

Joining her will be 11th Congressional District Republican Committee chairman Tom Stroup, who is an alternate delegate. Both are Northville residents.

Romney McDaniel will be one of 2,286 delegates and Stroup will be one of 2,125 alternate delegates, according to the national convention website. Delegates sit on the coveted convention floor to help select a Republican candidate for president.

How did they become so involved in the political process?

"For years, I had always considered myself an independent voter. I did not align myself with either party," Stroup said. "There's a part of me that's almost embarassed to say today that in 1992 I voted for Ross Perot. In 1996 I voted for Bill Clinton."

He added, "I cringe thinking about it now."

Stroup was drawn to the Republican Party in 2000 that was sparked by watching a Fox News program which discussed the ballot controversy in Florida. Rush Limbaugh was a featured guest.

"I had an epiphany," he said, recalling that Limbaugh's fiscal conservatism was inspiring to him. So he attended local party meetings and got involved in local campaigns. That led to getting involved in the 11th Congressional District Republican Committee, which represents the district in Wayne and Oakland Counties.

Romney McDaniel's involvement, because of her political family, may seem more obvious. Her grandfather is a former Michigan governor. Politics was part of her life from an early age.

"The first campaign I worked on was the Headley campaign. My mom used to take my brothers and sisters in the station wagon," she recalled, "I was probably eight or nine (years old.)"

She added, "All my life we were always involved. It was always such a great example to me of civic responsibility. So I think I always knew you could make a difference at the local level."

Each Tuesday, a Northville resident, business, organization, group or government official will be featured in our "Good Morning, Northville" series.

Interested in being featured in a future "Good Morning, Northville" video? Email nancy.kelsey@patch.com for more details. Next week, we'll feature a greeting from Northville Democratic Club president Scott Craig.