I'm looking at another run for office. Here's why.

We have to resist the urge to react to the attempts to divide us

After the horrific killing of Charlie Kirk, I skipped a week of USTomorrow because the level of public reaction was so loud that nothing I could say was going to make a difference. Quick reactions are often more emotional than reasoned—and often they do harm than good.

Twenty years in the Army taught me a lesson I’ll never forget: first reports are usually wrong. It takes time to see the full picture. The same day as the Utah shooting, a gunman opened fire in a Denver high school before turning the gun on himself. Both deserve serious discussion, but facts need time to come in.

I took this photo last Thursday at the Leading2Win 9/11 Memorial Reception at American Legion Post 76 in Austin.

Just four days before, I warned that when leaders use the language of combat and conflict, it fuels division and invites those ‘not in their right mind’ to take it literally. Sadly, last week proved that point.

So I stepped back—less news, less political commentary, more focus on constructive work where I could make an impact.

I poured energy into a conference I chaired this year called Leading2Win, bringing veterans together to build common ground on the issues important to our community. Then, after unpacking and repacking my suitcase same day, I flew to Nashville to join entrepreneurs turning passion into business.

Bottling up rage and stress isn’t healthy—literally or figuratively. You need constructive outlets. And it’s not doom scrolling on social media— often reacting to bots that are there to drive the wedge further into our community.

This tumultuous summer of 2025 has me reflecting on public service—and considering a run for office again.

With five Texas Congressional seats being redrawn mid-decade, it’s clear: we need more people stepping up, not fewer. Moderates like me may be frustrated, but walking away only makes the problem worse.

Chip Roy is not returning to Congress. Lloyd Doggett is retiring. Mike McCaul is staying home. Vikki Goodwin is running for higher office. All four seats are right here in Austin where I call home.

As someone who has always tried to answer the call to service, I’ll be spending the next few weeks crunching numbers and considering where I can make the biggest impact. If you’d like to help me think it through, reply to this post.

In the meantime, I’m sharing again my post from just before the killing of Charlie Kirk to remind us that civility matters more than ever.

Joseph

---

The following is a Re-Post of my USTomorrow from 6 September:

I had the honor of participating in a conversation on the importance of civility with Jen Sarver, who I had the chance to run alongside during my run for Congress. What makes the video fun to watch is that while we were supposedly on “opposite sides,” we were actually both so close to the center that the dividing lines started to blur.

A screenshot of our conversation hosted by the Texas Lyceum Campaign for Civility Project.

When you watch the 11 minute video of the highlights of our conversation, you’ll see what I mean. If you enjoy our conversation, please share with others!

If you listen closely, it’s hard to tell which of us is the “Republican Candidate” or the “Democrat Candidate.” That’s the point. My path has taken me through both Republican and Democratic campaigns, yet I define myself by ideas and service, not by a single party label.

In a conversation with my friend Jenifer—a former GOP candidate in TX-21—we kept coming back to the same truth: in the center, party labels start to break down. What remains are shared values and a bias for solving problems. It’s no wonder the https://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/editorials/article/Sarver-Kopser-to-replace-Smith-12611297.php in our respective primaries.

The Community That Thrives in Listening: The Texas Lyceum

Both of us credit the https://www.texaslyceum.org/campaign-for-civility with sharpening our thinking and widening our circles. It’s where you’re challenged without being canceled, and where disagreement is a sign of respect, not a prelude to contempt. As Jenifer put it, the Lyceum “diversified, enriched, and sharpened” her life. Same for me. You can’t demonize people you’ve actually gotten to know.

“If kindergarteners talked the way some of our elected officials do today, they’d be punished. We wouldn’t allow that kind of behavior from our children—so why do we tolerate it from our leaders?” —Jenifer Sarver

That reminder cuts to the heart of the problem: civility is not weakness, it’s the minimum standard we should expect from anyone in public life.

Campaigns Without Scripts (Instead With Real Lives)

We laughed about 2017–18, when we ran in different primaries for the same congressional seat. We didn’t need talking points because we were speaking from lived experience. That meant I was sometimes “too left” for my right-leaning friends and “too right” for my left-leaning friends.

“I figured if I was getting beat up from the left and the right at the same time, I must be doing something right.” —JK

If you’re catching flak from both sides, maybe you’re not off base—you’re actually over the target: practical problem-solving.

“Too many people run to join a power [grid] or be a part of the political industrial complex” —JK

The Platform That Loss Built

Jenifer said something in that conversation that stuck: even in losing, we won something bigger—a platform to talk about civility. She was right. Looking back nearly seven years later, she called it correctly. Our 2018 runs may not have ended in victory speeches, but they opened doors to a conversation that for me became the foundation USTomorrow. What started as two candidates trying to model civility has grown for me into a community focused on rebuilding trust, amplifying problem-solvers, and charting a more hopeful future.

Relationships Are the Off-Ramp from Outrage

Real progress starts offstage—over coffee, a beer, or a late-night debrief after a tough session. Relationship first, tough questions second. With trust, you can ask the “yes, but…” that finds the edge of someone’s belief—and right alongside it, the overlap where common ground lies.

“You can’t hate up close.” —Jenifer Sarver

That’s the heart of the matter: civility is built in relationship, and relationships don’t thrive at a distance.

Three habits we’ve seen work:

• Meet off-camera. Break bread, one-on-one.

• Retire the zero-sum frame. In Texas, we can expand the pie.

• Look local first. National drama is loud; local action is real. And always remember that potholes are neither Republican nor Democratic.

Save the Jerseys for Sports

We need to save our favorite team jerseys for sports—not for politics. In sports, once you put on your team’s jersey—whether it’s the Aggies, Longhorns, or any other—you believe your team is number one and can do no wrong. That’s part of the fun. But in politics, taking that same stance does real harm. It locks us into defending every action of “our side,” even when we know better, and it makes cooperation almost impossible. If we can put down the jerseys and pick up the problems instead, we might finally start winning together.

Find the Common Ground Instead of Fighting for the High Ground

Too often, our politics is framed as endless combat—“fight, fight, fight”—as if the only way to serve is through constant warfare. But as I said in my conversation with Jenifer:

“Whatever they do, and I know in representing their constituents they have to take everything personally and represent and fight, fight, fight. But so much of that language doesn’t help. What I’m looking for is ways to find answers, ways to find common ground—find rather than fight.” —JK

One way to do that is to chip away at the edges of a belief until you reach the “yes, but…” moment. That’s where the boundary of disagreement sits—and right alongside it is usually the space where overlap lives. If you can pause there, in that shared space, you can start building real solutions instead of shouting over irreconcilable differences.

What the Center Wants

People told us in 2018 they’d be fine if either of us won because we were close enough to the center and committed to bringing people together. That wasn’t about mushy moderation; it was about actionable common ground:

• Civility as a daily discipline, not a talking point.

• Local service before national shouting.

• Results over rhetoric, measured in community impact.

Why Run (or Support Someone Who Does)?

Win or lose, campaigns matter because they shape networks and conversations that last. That’s why I’ll never rule out stepping back into the arena myself—because we need more people committed to civility and common ground.

A Playbook for Builders in the Middle

Try one this week:

1. Invite across: Coffee with someone you publicly disagree with.

2. Name the overlap: Write down one common objective you share.

3. Trade a “win”: Support their priority locally; ask them to back yours.

4. Drop the war talk: Replace “fight/war/enemy” with “build/solve/partner.”

5. Report back: Tell your circle (briefly) what you built together.

One Last Thought

If the center seems quiet, it’s not because it’s empty—it’s because its people are busy doing the work. USTomorrow was born from that belief, and it’s what keeps me engaged. Some people keep asking when I’ll run again. All I can say for now: the work continues, whether on the page, in the community, or maybe someday back on the ballot.

Question for you: What’s one local problem where you’d co-lead with someone from “the other side”? Hit reply—I’ll feature a few in the coming weeks.

I’d love to hear your favorite recent example of civility.

Take care,

Joseph

Joseph Kopser

Co-Founder of USTomorrow