Joshua Kowert

Joshua Kowert was a Republican candidate in the 2008 congressional elections for the 4th Congressional District (map) of Texas. He was seeking the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas), but lost a primary election to Hall on March 4, 2008.

Bio
Joshua was born in Austin, Texas in 1981. He spent most of his childhood growing up in Austin, and then later Keller, near Ft. Worth. During his youth, he dedicated his time to his studies, sports, and community involvement. He was involved with the DARE role model program in high school, as well as meals on wheels and youth mentoring with his future finace Baylee.

Joshua attended college at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. There he continued his community involvement, helping establish the Grayson County Community development board his senior year. He graduated from Austin College in May 2004 Cum Laude, with a BA in International Economics and Finance. He was in the top 15 students of his class.

After graduating from Austin College, he spent the summer in Washington DC interning in the Congressional Office of Congressman Pete Sessions (R TX-32). Upon his return to Texas, he was hired by a Dallas based law firm as their lobbyist in Austin during the 2005 session. He was the youngest registered lobbyist in Texas at the time.

When the session concluded, he went to work for the Sherman ISD as a substitute teacher, teaching grades K-12, and then later accepting a position at Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

In 2006, Joshua returned to school, this time at American University in Washington DC, where he studied International Economic Relations. He will be receiving his Masters degree in May 2008.

In Washington, Joshua worked at the American Academy of Diplomacy, a non-profit foreign policy think tank comprised of former high ranking State Department and government officials.

He currently works as an Economics Professor at Grayson County and Collin County Colleges.

2008 elections
Kowert was seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas) in the 2008 congressional elections. He lost a primary election to Hall on March 4, 2008.

Committees
Kowert will be assigned committees if and when he is elected to Congress.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * 2008 U.S. congressional elections
 * 2008 U.S. congressional election dates
 * Portal:Texas and the U.S. Congress

External resources

 * 2008 Race Tracker page on Texas’s 4th Congressional District
 * Official Kowert for Congress website