Jim Cooper

James Hayes Shofner "Jim" Cooper (born July 19, 1954) is a politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee, currently representing the state's 5th Congressional district (map), based in Nashville.

Cooper was born in Shelbyville, Tennessee and he graduated from the University of North Carolina, University of Oxford and the Harvard University Law School. He is the son of former governor of Tennessee Prentice Cooper. Cooper was elected the House of Representatives from the Fourth District as a Democrat in 1982, handily defeating Cissy Baker, daughter of long-time Tennessee political figure Howard Baker. This race was closely watched for several reasons. This district was widely regarded as the one created as a result of reapportionment stemming from the 1980 census, which gave Tennessee an additional representative in the House, and as being potentially competitive based on the typical party preferences of the areas involved. Beyond the appeal of the offspring of two very prominent Tennessee political figures running against each other, the newly-created Fourth District ran diagonally across the state from the Tri-Cities to the fringes of the Nashville suburbs. Many felt would whoever won it would almost instantly become a statewide figure with a high potential for election to statewide office in the future. Cooper was elected to five subsequent terms with little substantive opposition, and served in the House until 1995. However, he found himself having to explain many of his votes to his somewhat conservative constituents. In 1994, Cooper ran for the United States Senate for the seat left open when Al Gore was elected Vice President, winning the Democratic nomination, but lost to Republican attorney and actor Fred Thompson in an overwhelming landslide in the general election, receiving well under 40% of the vote. He then moved to Nashville and entered private business.

After Fifth District Congressman Bob Clement decided to run for Thompson's Senate seat in 2002, Cooper filed to run for Congress from that district. He won a hard-fought primary election over several other prominent local Democrats. As no Republican has represented Nashville since Reconstruction his victory in November was a foregone conclusion, and he returned to Congress after an eight year absence. Cooper's political future, at least in the near term, seems secure as Republicans have not made a serious run at this district since 1972. His most recent opponent conducted only a token campaign and dissavowed the national Republican ticket. It seems unlikely that he will attract a well-funded, serious Republican opponent in the near future.