Chairman of The Arizona Democratic Party
In 2001, Pederson was elected chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party, which was then in need of funds and new infrastructure. Pederson was able to bring both. He is credited with recruiting two top-notch candidates for statewide office 2002, then-Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano for Governor and former Phoenix mayor and gubernatorial candidate, Terry Goddard, for Attorney General. Both won, and credit is often given to Pederson for his funding, fundraising ability, and his leadership in rebuilding the Democratic party infrastructure.
Pederson's work, however, did not carry the state for Democratic candidate John Kerry in the 2004 U.S. presidential election, and none of the much-publicized campaigns by Democratic challengers in Arizona for the 2004 United States House of Representatives elections were successful in unseating Republican incumbents. Even though the party didn't fare well in the 2004 federal elections, the Democratic Party increased its ranks in the Arizona State House of Representatives and lost only one Arizona State Senate seat, an interesting fact given that George W. Bush carried Arizona by more percentage points in 2004 then he did in the 2000 election.
Read more about this topic: Jim Pederson
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