Steve Jarding has spent 25 years working in American politics. He is a past Executive Director of the South Dakota Democratic Party and former Communications Director in Bob Kerrey's U.S. Senate campaigns in Nebraska. He has served as Communications Director of the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and has run leadership PACs for Senators Kerrey and John Edwards.

In 2001, Jarding was campaign manager for Mark Warner's bid for governor of Virginia, a campaign recognized by many as the best run in the country. In 1996, Roll Call magazine named Jarding one of the 50 most influential political people in Washington, DC. Jarding received an undergraduate degree from the University of South Dakota and a master's degree from the University of Oklahoma where he served as a Fellow at the Carl Albert Congressional Studies Center.

In 2004, Jarding was a Fellow at the Institute of Politics. Jarding has taught at the University of Oklahoma, George Mason University, American University, and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Jarding is coauthor of the 2006 book Foxes in the Hen House, a political commentary published by Simon and Schuster. More recently, Jarding has made numerous appearances on MSNBC's Hardball with Christ Matthews and worked as a senior advisor on Jim Webb’s successful campaign defeating Virginia Senator George Allen, which turned the balance of power in the Senate. Jarding’s role in the winning Warner and Webb campaigns show he is the leading political mind for a Democratic southern strategy, the Democratic Party's nominee may need him to become the next President.