**Embargo: Denver, CO**
Weston Imer, 12, leads a Trump field operation office in Jefferson County, Colorado
The Donald Trump campaign has gained a reputation for its less-than-traditional approach to grassroots engagement, and that includes its offices in Jefferson County, Colorado, where one of the operation’s most prominent leaders is 12-year-old Weston Imer.
Weston, who helps coordinate volunteers and the office’s get-out-the-vote operation, told CNN Colorado affiliate KDVR he hoped his experience would lead other young people to follow in his footsteps.
“Get involved,” Weston told the outlet in the western Denver suburb of Wheat Ridge. “That’s what I’m going to say. Get involved. Kids need to be educated.”
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment about Weston.
Weston’s mother, Laurel Imer, who is officially listed as the operation’s field coordinator, said the campaign was a good opportunity for her son to learn more about the political process before he returns to school in September.
“You have a responsibility to your children to teach them,” Imer said.
The learning curve seems to have already stoked Weston’s political ambitions.
“Watch for me — 2040,” Weston Imer said. “And Barron Trump, if you are watching, in 2040 I’ll take you as my running mate.”
Weston has appeared twice on stage at Denver events for Trump and Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence, singing “America the Beautiful” on July 29, and introducing Pence on August 3.
At the August 3 rally, Weston said he supported the pair because he wanted to feel more safe at school.
“If we do not elect Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence, school shootings could triple under the next four to eight years under the poor leadership of Hillary Clinton,” Weston said.
Colorado has presented a problem for Trump’s path to the presidency, with a Quinnipiac University swing-state poll finding him trailing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by 10 points — 49% to 39% — in a head-to-head matchup.
In addition, Clinton’s campaign announced Monday it would not air local TV advertisements in Colorado in September and October.
