Even when he defied the standard mold of a politician, Steve Thompson pushed himself to the top of the political heap.

As a student at Utah State University in the 1980s — at least, most of the decade — he never strayed from his passion, politics, even when he moved school to the back burner because of work and drumming for a bar band. Early on in his college career, he worked a political internship, and by the final two years of his education he became involved in student government, eventually becoming student body president his final year.

Since then, Thompson, 46, has been elected to the Logan City Council three times and is currently the Democratic Party's nominee running against Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, for the 1st District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. As it has been for decades in the primarily northern Utah district, the campaign is an uphill fight. With a month to go, Thompson is trailing the incumbent by 31 percent in the most recent Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll by Dan Jones & Associates. Yet he continues to walk neighborhoods and speak to any groups that will listen, never shying away from the fact he's a Democrat with limited experience.

Gary Chambers, USU's associated vice president for student services, who advised the Associated Students of Utah State University during Thompson's year at the head of the table, remembers him as an ambitious, opinionated leader. In many ways, the student leader of two decades ago foretold the elected official of today.

"Steve's not afraid to push the envelope on issues," Chambers said. "When he was here, he prided himself on being informed and wasn't afraid to ask questions . . . now, he's more polished in his ability to deal with the public, but he hasn't lost that passion. He's only gained maturity."

As a Logan city councilman, Thompson continues to work with university officials on campus issues, such as tenant/landlord relations, Chambers said.

"He listens, he's genuine, and he wants to understand the issues," Chambers said. "He's not involved in politics for his own benefit; he genuinely wants to make things better."

10-year plan

Despite the political internships and student government experience, Thompson did not follow a typical road for congressional hopefuls. For one, he took a long time to graduate from college, primarily because of financial hurdles and outside interests.

"I was on the 10-year program," he said. "I was a student who had to work through school, so I'd fade in and out of classes."