Adam Kwasman (born October 28, 1982) is an American attorney, politician, and a former Republican member of the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Senate. The House convenes in the legislative chambers at the Arizona State C ...

, representing District 11 from 2013 to 2015. Kwasman ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress in 2014. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Early life and education

Kwasman was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. He earned his bachelor's degree (

Cum Laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

) from Tulane University, a master's degree in Economics from

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

, and a J.D. degree from the

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.

Career

Kwasman worked at the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies and interned on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

for former Congressman Jim Kolbe. Kwasman worked in the United Kingdom for the RAND Corporation, assisting in their research of Islamic terrorism while studying at the Institute for Economics and Politics, a study abroad program in Cambridge, England. In 2009, Kwasman founded his own economic consulting firm advising both private companies and political clients. Kwasman later co-founded the law firm Wagner & Kwasman in Phoenix, Arizona where he practices personal injury and wrongful death law. Notably, Kwasman represented a former legislative aide in a suit against State Senator Wendy Rogers.

Politics

Kwasman was elected to the

in 2012 alongside Steve Smith defeating Democratic nominee Dave Joseph. He served as the Vice Chairman on the Ways and Means Committee and also sat on the Appropriations and Commerce Committees.

Policy positions

Kwasman was given a 100% rating by the American Conservative Union in 2014. In 2013, Kwasman was rated "Hero of the Taxpayer" by Americans for Prosperity.

2014 congressional campaign

In 2014, Kwasman sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Congress in Arizona's 1st congressional district. He was defeated in the primary by

Andy Tobin Andrew M. Tobin (born June 27, 1958) is the Director of the Arizona Department of Administration. He formerly was a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission and also served in the Arizona House of Representatives from the state's 1st distric ...

and

Gary Kiehne The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 2016, to elect representatives for all 435 List of United States congressional districts, congressional districts across each of the 50 U.S. states. Non-voting mem ...

Illegal Migrant/Bus Incident

In 2014, Kwasman was attending a morning protest over the expected arrival of migrant children being transported to a shelter near Oracle, Arizona. Kwasman spoke with a local reporter and voiced his opposition to locating the children at the shelter. The reporter later informed Kwasman that the school bus in his tweet was actually carrying local children to a YMCA camp. The incident was featured on the '' Colbert Report''.

2020 State Senate Race

Kwasman announced his intention to run for the state senate in Legislative District 23, challenging incumbent republican Michelle Ugenti-Rita. Although he received sufficient signatures, Kwasman dropped out of the race and endorsed Alex Kolodin due to health concerns and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personal life

Kwasman volunteers teaching economics to high school students through the

Junior Achievement JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide is a global non-profit youth organization founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and Winthrop M. Crane. JA works with local businesses, schools, and organizations to deliver experiential learning ...

program. In August 2014, Kwasman revealed that he had been diagnosed with "a form of slow-growing blood cancer that has presented no symptoms." Kwasman is a regular political and economic contributor to '' The Resurgent''. Kwasman is married to political consultant Orit Kwasman (née Sklar), who is the former Development Director of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and a conservative political consultant.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwasman, Adam Living people Jewish American state legislators in Arizona Tulane University alumni George Mason University alumni Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law alumni 1982 births Politicians from Tucson, Arizona Republican Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives 21st-century American Jews