Karan English (born March 23, 1949) is an American politician who served in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

of the

103rd United States Congress The 103rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 199 ...

from 1993 to 1995. A Democrat, English represented

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

's 6th Congressional District, which in the 1990s included much of

Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks, such as shales, capped by a ...

, Scottsdale and northeast Arizona. Prior to her election to the U.S. House of Representatives, English served as an Arizona State Senator (1991–1993), State Representative (1987–1991), and

Coconino County Coconino County is a County (United States), county in the North Central Arizona, North-Central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff, Arizon ...

supervisor (1981–1987). In the Arizona senate, English developed a reputation as a liberal on fiscal, social and environmental issues. Despite being heavily outspent during her campaign, English won her 1992 General Election race against Republican Doug Wead after being endorsed by former U.S. Senator

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

. Goldwater said he thought Wead was out of touch with Arizona because of his relatively brief residency in the state—two years to English's 22. Wead countered that Goldwater's support of abortion rights spurred the unexpected crossing of party lines. English may have also benefited from Democratic Party momentum in 1992, which was the year of

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

's first presidential election victory. Clinton came within a few percentage points of winning Arizona, and two other Democratic Representatives ( Ed Pastor and Sam Coppersmith) were elected along with English to give Democrats the majority of the state's House delegation. She was the second woman to represent Arizona in Congress, with Isabella Selmes Greenway (1933–1937) being the first. After serving a single term in Congress, English was defeated by Republican challenger J.D. Hayworth in 1994. she is involved with the Center for Sustainable Environments at

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1899, it was the third and final university established in the Arizona Territory. It is one of the three universities gove ...

and is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.

Notes

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Arizona Women's Political Caucus

References

Sources

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: Karan English

External links

Northern Arizona University: Cline Library Digital Archives search results for "Karan English"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:English, Karan 1949 births Democratic Party Arizona state senators County supervisors in Arizona Living people Politicians from Berkeley, California University of Arizona alumni Democratic Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Female members of the United States House of Representatives Women state legislators in Arizona Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona 21st-century American women 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Arizona State Legislature 20th-century American women politicians

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links