Sam Coppersmith

Sam Coppersmith
Official portrait, 1993
Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party
In office
1995–1997
Preceded bySteve Owens
Succeeded byMark Fleisher
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arizona's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byJohn Jacob Rhodes III
Succeeded byMatt Salmon
Personal details
Born
Samuel George Coppersmith

(1955-05-22) May 22, 1955 (age 69)
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Education
Websiteliberaldesert.blogspot.com (personal blog)

Samuel George Coppersmith (born May 22, 1955) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the U.S. representative for Arizona's 1st congressional district from 1993 to 1995. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early years

Coppersmith was born May 22, 1955, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.[1] He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1976,[2] and then worked as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department, assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.[1] He returned to the U.S. then earned a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1982.[2] After law school, he clerked for Judge William C. Canby Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and served as an assistant to the Mayor of Phoenix.[2]

House of Representatives

In 1992, Coppersmith won the Democratic primary in Arizona's 1st District and faced three-term Republican Jay Rhodes in the general election. Coppersmith won the elections and became a U.S. Representative from the Democratic Party for Arizona's 1st Congressional District.[3]

Senate race

In 1994, Coppersmith gave up his seat after only one term to run for the U.S. Senate when Dennis DeConcini retired. In the Democratic race to replace the retiring DeConcini, Rep. Sam Coppersmith won with a razor-thin margin of 32 votes (81,547 votes vs 81,515 for Richard Mahoney).[4] He subsequently lost to fellow Congressman Jon Kyl by 14 points.

Private law practice

After leaving Congress, Coppersmith spent two years as the chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party.[1] He is as of 2013 an attorney specializing in real estate law and a managing partner of the law firm of Coppersmith Schermer & Brockelman PLC.[2][5] He has a blog called LiberalDesert.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Sam Coppersmith". Stennis Center for Public Service Leadership. Archived from the original on January 13, 2003.
  2. ^ a b c d "Samual G. Coppersmith". Coppersmith Schermer & Brockelman PLC. Archived from the original on February 27, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  3. ^ "Former Arizona Congressman John Rhodes III dies". East Valley Tribune. January 20, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  4. ^ "Arizona Gov. Symington wins primary". UPI.
  5. ^ "SAM COPPERSMITH". CBLawyers.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arizona's 1st congressional district
1993–1995 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic Party nominee for United States Senator from Arizona
(Class 1)
1994 		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Representative 		Succeeded byas Former US Representative