# John Knotwell

William John Knotwell III (born January 24, 1978) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the Utah House of Representatives representing District 52 from January 1, 2013, to October 26, 2019. The district includes Herriman, western Riverton, southwest South Jordan in the State of Utah.
Born to American parents in Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines, Knotwell spent most of his childhood in Southern California, near San Diego. Knotwell's father was a career United States Navy sailor who spent half his career as an enlisted sailor and half as a Commissioned Warrant Officer.

## Early life and education

Knotwell graduated from Poway High School in Poway, California. He attended California State University, Northridge for one year. In December 1997, Knotwell moved to Utah and enrolled as a summer visiting student at Brigham Young University. He was unsuccessful in his attempts to be accepted full-time and later enrolled at Utah Valley State College.
Knotwell earned his Associate of Science in political science from Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University), a Bachelor of Science in political science with a minor in history from the University of Utah, and a Masters in Business Administration from Utah State University.

## Career

During the 2010 Utah Republican neighborhood caucus, Knotwell was elected to serve as precinct chair, county delegate, and state delegate. He participated in the state and county party conventions and served his term until 2012. In 2011, Knotwell ran for the Herriman City Council to represent District 1. He was unsuccessful in unseating incumbent city councilman Matt Robinson.
In March 2012, Knotwell announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for Utah House of Representatives. Following the 2010 United States census, the seat was occupied by Daniel McCay was redistricted and became an open seat. Four candidates sought the nomination and Knotwell won on the first ballot with 76% of the vote. In the November 2012 general election he won the popular vote and was designated representative-elect until taking office on January 1, 2013.

## Utah State House of Representatives
### 60th Utah State Legislature (2013–2014)

* Committee Assignments
** Infrastructure and General Government Appropriations Committee, Member
** House Revenue & Taxation Standing Committee, Member
** House Transportation Committee, Member
** Public Utilities & Technology Interim Committee, Member

### 61st Utah State Legislature (2015–2016)

* Committee Assignments
** House Business & Labor Standing Committee, Vice Chair
** House Rules Committee, Vice Chair
** Infrastructure and General Government Appropriations Committee, Member
** House Revenue & Taxation Standing Committee, Member
** IT Steering Committee, Member

### 62nd Utah State Legislature (2017–2018)

Representative Knotwell was elected to serve as the majority assistant whip during the 62nd Utah State Legislature. In this capacity, he assists other members of the majority elected leadership to craft the state budget, negotiate priorities among the Utah Senate and governor's office and secure votes among the Utah House of Representatives.
* Committee Assignments
** Executive Appropriations, Member
** House Business & Labor Standing Committee, Member
** House Transportation Standing Committee, Member
** IT Steering Committee, Member

## Personal life

Knotwell lives in Herriman, Utah, and works as senior vice president of global sales at Nuvi. Knotwell and his wife, Jill, have five children.

## Electoral history
### 2012 election

Utah House of Representatives, 52nd District, Republican Nominating Convention :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Knotwell | 48 | 76.19 |
| | Republican | Joe Ross | 7 | 11.11 |
| | Republican | Michelle Baguley | 5 | 7.94 |
| | Republican | Jewel K. Skousen | 3 | 4.76 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 63 | 100.00 |
Utah House of Representatives, 52nd District, 2012 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Knotwell | 9,928 | 73.54 |
| | Democratic | Daniel Paget | 2,958 | 21.91 |
| | Independent | Aaron M. Davis | 601 | 4.45 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 13,501 | 100.00 |

### 2014 election

Utah House of Representatives, 52nd District, 2014 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Knotwell (incumbent) | 6,055 | 76.45 |
| | Democratic | Daniel Paget | 1,865 | 23.55 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,920 | 100.00 |

### 2016 election

Utah House of Representatives, 52nd District, 2016 Republican Nominating Convention :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Knotwell | 122 | 86.50 |
| | Republican | Michael Swensen | 19 | 13.40 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 141 | 100.00 |
Utah House of Representatives, 52nd District, 2016 General Election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Knotwell (incumbent) | 13,020 | 74.67 |
| | Democratic | Garr K. Smith | 4,417 | 25.33 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 17,437 | 100 |