Sam Coppersmith Explained

Office:Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party
Term Start:1995
Term End:1997
Predecessor:Steve Owens
Successor:Mark Fleisher
State1:Arizona
District1:1st
Term Start1:January 3, 1993
Term End1:January 3, 1995
Predecessor1:John Jacob Rhodes III
Successor1:Matt Salmon
Birth Name:Samuel George Coppersmith
Birth Date:22 May 1955
Birth Place:Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Party:Democratic
Education:
Website:liberaldesert.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. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1976, 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. He returned to the U.S. then earned a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1982. 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.

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.[1]

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).[2] 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. He is an attorney specializing in real estate law and a managing partner of the law firm of Coppersmith Schermer & Brockelman PLC.[3] He has a blog called LiberalDesert.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2011-01-20 . Former Arizona Congressman John Rhodes III dies . 2023-04-02 . East Valley Tribune . en.
  2. Web site: Arizona Gov. Symington wins primary . UPI.
  3. Web site: SAM COPPERSMITH . CBLawyers.