Which superhero would you be and why? That’s the question that nine-year-old Ari Garnick asked the Republican candidates this summer. Ari took some time away from books and LEGOs to talk to the candidates as they criss-crossed his home state of New Hampshire. He met Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman at a Fourth of July parade in Amherst, New Hampshire. He also got to see Romney hand out coffee and sandwiches at a local diner. Ari braved a massive crowd at the opening of Herman Cain’s headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire. “If you have claustrophobia, you’d want to stay away from there,” but Ari squeezed his way through to talk to Cain. He met Rick Perry at a house party, Rick Santorum at a Greek festival, and Newt Gingrich at a “meet and greet.” He and his dad took a long drive to see Ron Paul at Keene State College, but Paul seemed “more interested in talking to adults,” said Ari. As a consolation, Ari’s dad took him for some pizza and ice cream. He and his dad were not able to talk to Michele Bachmann, but they hope to when she is back in New Hampshire.

Today, people in Iowa gather in the Iowa caucuses, the first election event and chance for people in Iowa to pick the Republican they want on the ballot to face off against President Barack Obama this fall. The 2012 presidential election is many months away and will be held on November 6, but the Republican candidates have already spent a lot of time on the campaign trail in 2011.

Ari thinks the election process is interesting, but he doesn’t think kids should be allowed to vote. “Kids don’t know anything about the candidates and might just like their name,” he said. Most of his friends aren’t interested in the election.