In a February 2006 special election for the State Senate's 60th District, the Democratic Committees in Erie and Niagara Counties selected Coppola as their nominee over Buffalo Councilman Antoine Thompson.
This committee oversees legislation and policies relating to urban development and New York State's 62 cities.
Thompson subsequently challenged and defeated Coppola in the September 2006 primary for a full two-year term in the Senate.
At the urging of Mayor Byron Brown and Thompson, former State Sen. Al Coppola also challenged for the seat in the 2006 primary.
Coppola also ran in the 2010 general election as a Democrat, against Republican candidate Mike Ranzenhofer, for the New York 61st Senate District, obtaining about 37% of the votes.