Former Democratic Congressional Candidate Joseph Kopser is planning an election season effort to boost bipartisan support for what he calls a “non-wedge issue”: workforce readiness.
Kopser, an Army veteran and entrepreneur, earlier this year launched a non-profit organization called USTomorrow, which he says is “is building cross-partisan coalitions to increase civic participation and reduce hyper-partisanship.”
In a letter to supporters yesterday, Kopser said, “As the 2020 elections heat up, hyper-partisanship, wedge strategies, and a campaign industry that profits from both will continue to drive citizens away from the process. We can’t let that happen.”
The group plans to engage in 17 of the Congressional districts in Texas to encourage candidates “to work toward a cross-partisan solution on a non-wedge issue,” which for 2020 will be workforce readiness.
The group’s website says, “Texans want a strong economy that includes and benefits every American. We want workforce readiness strategies, job opportunities, and training that prepares us and our kids for a stable future and a happy life.”
“The workforce readiness crisis transcends political boundaries and solutions necessarily include all community stakeholders and all communities: urban, rural, red, and blue. The issue hasn’t (yet) been co-opted by partisan interests to divide us. It’s the ideal pilot topic.”
One of the ways that USTomorrow is planning to do this is through digital engagement. The group has built a digital engagement platform. It also plans events with the tech startup scene – something it’s calling a ‘tech accelerator’ – and it is planning candidate forums.
Workforce development has also been a focus of Texas Forward Forever, the political action committee launched earlier this year by former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus. Straus is pictured above with Kopser, in a photo the latter shared on social media Nov. 15. The two spoke in San Antonio at an event about workforce development and education.
Kopser in 2018 ran for Texas’ 21st Congressional District in 2018, which includes part of Austin as well as areas to the west and south of the city, including some suburbs of San Antonio. He narrowly lost to Republican Chip Roy. That seat is now being challenged by Wendy Davis.
