Knollenberg Biography

Joe Knollenberg was born on Nov. 28, 1933 in Mattoon, Illinois, and graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 1955. He served in the United States Army after college, then became an insurance agent. He moved to Michigan in 1967.

He was originally elected to Congress in 1992, replacing William Broomfield, who retired after serving 18 terms in the House of Representatives. Knollenberg represented the 11th District from 1993-2003, then was moved to the 9th District because of redistricting.

Knollenberg was elected fairly easily for his first seven terms, but only managed 51.5% of the vote in 2006. He outspent his opponent, progressive talk-show host Nancy Skinner, by nearly 8-to-1, but got the lowest vote percentage of his career.

Knollenberg’s son Marty is a State Representative in the 41st district, which overlaps his father’s Congressional seat.