Joshua Schopp (photo, left), 20, is a Republican school board candidate in Central, Louisiana, a Baton Rouge suburb.
Living in Washington state, I don’t see much logic in electing 20-year-olds to school boards, but maybe in Louisiana they already have kids in school by then.
In any case, Schopp launched his campaign on July 21, 2022, with a Facebook announcement as follows: “It’s now OFFICIAL I am proud and honored to announce my running for Central Community School System-School Board of District 1!!!”
He then cited a Bible verse: “’And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ Colossians 3:17.” (See story here).
He was arrested for sexting a 15-year-old girl and exchanging explicit photos with her on Wednesday, August 15, 2022 (see story here). At least she’s not his daughter, which may help him a little in court when he tries to get a judge to release him on bond so he can campaign for school board.
This week, GOP leader Mitch McConnell downplayed his party’s Senate prospects, citing “candidate quality” (see story here). This is a problem for Republicans everywhere, and up and down ballot, as the Schopp case underlines.
In the 2022 primaries, Trump has largely kept his grip on the GOP, resulting in a slew of nominees that rational voters wouldn’t vote for. These include not only election deniers and conspiracy nuts, but also a Senate candidate who can’t get his stories straight about how many children he has.
Some of these candidates will get elected despite their obvious flaws, thanks to irrational voters, but extraordinarily weak candidates are creating an opening for Democrats to salvage their midterm prospoects (see, e.g., story here).
Down in Louisiana, I would guess Schopp won’t be joining the school board despite his efforts to portray himself as God’s preferred candidate. Even conservative voters may have some limits (although sometimes you wonder); for example, in 2017, deep-red Alabama elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate after it surfaced that the Bible-thumping Republican candidate has a penchant for teenage girls (details here).
Regardless of whether you’re a union-hall Democrat, or a Republican farmer or small business owner, you should wish for honest political competition between two responsible parties fielding sane candidates. That’s the kind of political system that yields the best policies and results for our nation and communities. I recall a time when misfits like Schopp wouldn’t even contemplate filing as candidates, because they’d be laughed out of town. That’s the America we need to reclaim, not the dark past Trump evokes, or the dream world of conservative propaganda that never existed.
For the immediate present, the lesson of Schopp’s candidacy is don’t be fooled by Bible-quoting. You can’t judge a candidate’s character by the book they wave for the cameras (e.g., photo at right). Would you want Joshua Schopp on your school board?
Republicans need to do better than this (and awful candidates like these), if they want responsible citizens to vote for them again. It’s not a good look to see a mugshot and say, “Who’s this?” and be told, “Republican school board candidate.” Then ask, “What’s he in jail for?” and be told, “Sexting a 15-year-old girl.” It makes the entire party look bad.