Every election year, thousands of Republican and Democratic delegates gather to select their party’s nominee.

This year, the youngest delegate representing North Carolina at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland also happened to be a representative of Beaufort County.

Representing the 3^rd District, Joseph Knox, 20, a Washington native, made the trek to Ohio with his 75 fellow N.C. delegates for an experience unlike any other. Knox said his job as a delegate was to vote for a nominee, starting in the first round with the candidate selected by voters in March’s primary.

“It was an experience of a lifetime,” he said.

Knox said he was chosen as an alternate delegate to begin with, but after the primary delegate was unable to attend, Knox moved into the spot of 3^rd District vice chairman.

Two other Beaufort County residents, Keith Kidwell and Larry Herwig, also joined him.

Knox said he was bombarded with questions from the news media and other delegates about some of the General Assembly’s controversial legislation recently.

“A lot of people wanted to know our feelings toward the governor, HB2. Especially the news media, they really wanted to know what our stance was,” Knox said.

As for Ted Cruz’s notorious decision to not endorse Donald Trump, Knox said it played out differently than the reports.

“People were upset that night, but moving on to the next day, everybody realized we’ve got an election to win,” he recalled. “I have to say it was a very positive atmosphere.”

Knox spent time with many of the big-name Republicans, including Donald Trump, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Rep. Paul Ryan and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, some of whom he had met before.

Knox said he hopes to run for office one day and plans to continue to work on political campaigns and with the Republican Party to gain experience.

In between politics, Knox also works at the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, is a member of the National Guard and attends East Carolina University full time.

“It was pretty cool being there and meeting people from other states,” he said. “It was awesome.”