Ed Pastor

In 1991, Pastor entered a special election to succeed retiring 28-year incumbent Democrat Mo Udall in the 2nd District, which then comprised the southwestern part of Arizona, including half of Tucson and portions of southern Phoenix.[6] Pastor won a narrow victory in the four-way Democratic primary, defeating his closest challenger, Tucson mayor Tom Volgy, by 1,800 votes.[7] He was the only major candidate from the Phoenix share of the district.

He then won the special election a month later with 55 percent of the vote to become the first Latino to represent Arizona in Congress.[6] He was reelected four times without substantive Republican opposition, never dropping below 60% of the vote.[8]

Pastor's former territory was renumbered as the 7th District following the 2000 census, but his home in Phoenix was drawn into the newly created 4th District.[9] Rather than move to the Phoenix portion of the reconfigured 7th, he opted to run in the 4th.[6] The newly created district was heavily Democratic and majority-Latino, with Democrats having a nearly 2-to-1 advantage in registration, similar to his old district.[10] He was reelected six times against nominal Republican opposition.[11]

Ed Pastor introducing President Bill Clinton in Phoenix in March 2016.

Pastor was one of the nine Chief Deputy Whips for the Democratic Caucus.[12] Following in Udall's footsteps, his voting record was decidedly liberal; for most of his tenure, he was the most liberal member of the Arizona congressional delegation.[13] He was well-respected by members of both parties, and had a reputation for bipartisanship.[6]

He was a founding member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was pro-choice, and in 2006 supported the interests of the Planned Parenthood 100 percent, according to their records.[14] In 2006, NARAL Pro-Choice America-Endorsements endorsed Representative Pastor.[15] He voted against the 2002 Iraq Resolution that started the Iraq War.[16]

In 2011, Pastor voted against the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.[17] He also voted against several bills that would encourage trade between countries such as Panama.[17] Furthermore, he voted to encourage the display of "In God We Trust" in public buildings and schools.[17]

In 2009-2010, Pastor was backed by the National Farmers Union. However, he was not supported by the National Council of Agricultural Employers.[17]

Pastor was supported by the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund,[18] which works to protect native wildlife and wild areas.[18]

Around the mid-1990s, Pastor was backed by the Americans for the Arts Action Fund.[17] However, since then, their support has dwindled somewhat.[17]

Pastor had a strong stance on civil rights regarding sexual orientation and race.[19] For example, in 2007, he voted to prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation and, in 2006, he voted against defining marriage as one man-one woman.[19] Finally, in 2004, he voted against a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage.[19] In 2002, the ACLU rated Pastor at 93% for a pro-civil rights voting record.[19]

In February 2014, Pastor announced that he would not seek reelection and would instead retire upon the completion of his term.[20]

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee of Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
• Source:[21]

• Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Source:[21]