Karan English

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Karan English
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 6th district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	J. D. Hayworth
Member of the Arizona Senate from the 2nd district
In office January 1991 – January 1993
Preceded by	Tony Gabaldon[1]
Succeeded by	John Wettaw
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 2nd district
In office January 1987 – January 1991
Preceded by	Sam A. McConnell, Jr.[2]
Succeeded by	Ben Benton[3]
Personal details
Born	(1949-03-23) March 23, 1949 (age 75) Berkeley, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic

Karan English (born March 23, 1949) is an American politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives of the 103rd United States Congress from 1993 to 1995.

A Democrat, English represented Arizona's 6th Congressional District, which in the 1990s included much of Mesa, 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 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. 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.^[1] English may have also benefited from Democratic Party momentum in 1992, which was the year of Bill Clinton'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.^[2]

After serving a single term in Congress, English was defeated by Republican challenger J.D. Hayworth in 1994.

As of 2020^[update] she is involved with the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University and is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.^[4]

• Women in the United States House of Representatives

1. ^ Yozwiak, Steve (30 October 1992). "Goldwater jolts GOP, backs Democrat". Arizona Republic.
2. ^ Arizona Women's Political Caucus

• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: Karan English

• Northern Arizona University: Cline Library Digital Archives search results for "Karan English"
• Appearances on C-SPAN