RIDE ‘EM COWBOY

If age is just a state of mind, then Republican state Senator and 11th District Congressional candidate Mike Kowall may be the youngest pup in the race for the seat. In May, Kowall (R-White Lake) was named by the National Republican Congressional Committee to its “Young Guns” program. The program, which serves as a merit badge of sorts, chooses GOP candidates that must meet specific goals throughout the cycle to ensure their campaigns are able to operate effectively. Fellow 11th District candidates Lena Epstein, Klint Kesto and Rocky Raczkowski were named to the program earlier this year, with Kowall, a political veteran who got a bit of a late start to his campaign, joining them. “Congratulations to Michigan Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kowall for being named “On the Radar” in the NRCC’s Young Guns program,” NRCC Chairman Steve Stivers said in making the announcement. Kowall, who is 67, is hardly a political newcomer, having previously been White Lake supervisor and state House Representative before eight years in the state Senate. But it is his first rodeo when it comes to a Congressional campaign.