Don Bivens

DENVER -- Don Bivens, Chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party, evoked a sustained cheer from the state's Democratic National Convention delegation when he announced the latest voter registration figures for Arizona.

"For this period, Democrats registered 19,000 new voters," said Bivens. "The Republicans registered something that starts with 8, and independents had about 7,000.

"That means Democrats out-registered Republicans and independents combined," he said, meeting huge cheers.

DENVER -- Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Don Bivens said Monday that the level of diversity presented by the Democratic National Convention will outstrip that of the Republican convention a week later in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

"That will be the difference in the photos," he said. "There are so many different people here, that's what's really cool."

Bivens said he is excited about the presumed acceptance speech of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), but his favorite moment of the convention so far was an interfaith service he saw on Sunday, before the convention officially started.

"It was a service where there was a christian minister, then a woman got up and read from the Koran. It just struck me."

The Arizona Democratic Party is attacking presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain over his recently-stated support of the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative, the anti-affirmative action ballot initiative backed by Ward Connerly. Democrats say his backing of the initiative represents a "reversal" of the position he held a decade ago.

In an appearance on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday morning, George Stephanopoulos asked the Arizona senator whether he backed the Arizona initiative "that would do away with affirmative action." "Yes, I do," said McCain, who stated he has "always opposed quotas." McCain added that he has "not seen the details" of the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative, but that he supports it.

An Associated Press article said McCain's opposition to race-based hiring quotas has been consistent, but that in 1998 he opposed a ballot initiative similar to the one Connerly authored:

The Arizona Heritage Dinner, a fundraising event for the Arizona Democratic Party, brought in over $600,000, according to party spokeswoman Emily DeRose.

The dinner, which was held in Phoenix Sunday, featured U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D.-Ill.), the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and the former head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Emanuel is credited as the architect of the Democrats' gains in 2006, enabling the party to recapture control of the House.

Also in attendance were Gov. Janet Napolitano, U.S. Reps. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) and Gabrielle Giffords (D-Tucson), Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.

Newly released data from Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer's office shows the Arizona Democratic Party has grown its ranks by almost 20,000 registered voters since March, over twice as many as new Republicans or independents added.

According to the Arizona Republican Party, though, the secretary of state's figures can be misleading, and don't take into account factors such as purges in voter rolls, the impact of the Democratic presidential primary and underhanded tactics by Democratically-affiliated groups.

"Democrats' efforts to move Arizona forward and put this country back on track are clearly moving new voters to register as Democrats," said Don Bivens, Arizona Democratic Party chairman, in a release announcing the numbers. "These new registration figures confirm our Party's upward trajectory in Arizona. These new registrations also confirm our excellent opportunities to pick up Congressional and state Legislative seats in November."

Democrats have been making strides toward leveling the playing field with their GOP rivals in terms of voter registration since the 2006 election, and now lag behind Arizona Republicans by around 110,000 voters. In 2006, Republicans had over 150,000 more voters than Democrats in Arizona.

Laura Knaperek, candidate in the 5th Congressional District Republican primary, has asked Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Don Bivens to facilitate a series of debates between her and U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) - a proposal that will not likely be seized upon by Democrats.

"Since Congressman Mitchell’s staff keeps him sequestered," read the letter, "I am hoping that in your capacity as state Democratic Party chair that you would encourage Congressman Mitchell to actually talk with the voters about the issues they care about.

I propose that over the next 90 days Rep. Mitchell and I conduct no fewer than five debates, co-hosted by my campaign and the Arizona Democratic Party to share with the voters where we stand on the issues.

It is my sincere hope that Rep. Mitchell will be receptive to your overtures and that we can agree on the terms of the debates and engage our fellow Americans."

Moments after polls closed in South Dakota, one of the two remaining primary states who both held their contests today, Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Don Bivens announced he is backing Sen. Barack Obama (D.-Ill.) for president.

"Now that our historic season of caucuses and primaries is behind us, it is time for each superdelegate to choose between two outstanding candidates," Bivens said. "For me, that choice is Senator Barack Obama. He is an extraordinary leader, with the ability to bring people together across party lines to solve problems. That is exactly what our country and our state need right now, a pragmatic change of direction."

Bivens is a Democratic Party superdelegate, meaning he can cast his vote at the Democratic National Convention for whomever he chooses. Superdelegates have been flocking to Obama over the past few days as the nomination fight wraps up, and Obama is expected to clinch the necessary 2,118 delegates tonight after the South Dakota and Montana results are in. He is expected to win both states.

As the Democratic primary winds down and Barack Obama more than likely moves towards the nomination tonight, it is worth looking at the three superdelegates in Arizona who avoided taking a stance. 

Democratic Party Chairman Don Bivens is uncommitted, and of the three uncommitted he probably has the best reason to remain so.  His Governor is with Obama, some of his biggest donors are with Hillary Clinton and his delegation is split.