Karenna Gore

— -- George W. Bush’s hunky Hispanic nephew may have lit up the GOP convention, but Vice President Al Gore plans to get some help of his own from his oldest daughter, Karenna Gore Schiff.

Karenna — Al and Tipper Gore’s first child — was born Aug. 6, 1973, just a few years before her dad began his life in politics as a U.S. congressman from Tennessee. Like her father, who graduated from Harvard University in 1969, Karenna’s also an Ivy Leaguer. She earned a B.A. from Harvard in 1995, and graduated from Columbia University Law School earlier this year.

At 27, Karenna enters the political scene as a wife and a mother. She married Andrew Schiff, a New York physician, on July 12, 1997. Their son, Wyatt Gore Schiff, born on July 4, 1999, is Al and Tipper’s first grandchild.

Although Karenna is a newcomer to the political scene, she’s been eager to step into the limelight. She has acted in her parents’ stead at a state dinner. She spent her first Mother’s Day walking alongside Tipper Gore in the Million Mom March, calling for tougher gun-control laws. And now she’s set to become the first child of a presidential candidate to speak at a national convention.

Energizing the Gen-X CrowdKarenna has spent most of the past year spearheading the charge to energize first-time voters and the Gen-X crowd. She’s been working to boost support for her dad among that traditionally apathetic group, working as national chairwoman of GoreNet. At the helm of the group, Karenna is attempting to mobilize the youth vote through the Internet and grass-roots efforts.

Observers say Karenna has inherited her mother’s relaxed, down-to-earth style in speaking engagements. She’s parlayed that strength to develop a strong network of Democratic supporters, and raised $25,000 for the party as the headliner at a July fund-raising event.

While Karenna says she hopes she can rally the youth vote and crank up support for the Democratic ticket, she says she plans to stay involved in politics whether her dad wins or loses in November.

Her parents seem to expect a big political future for Karenna. Her dad says she has great political instincts, and her mom often refers to her as the next senator from Tennessee.