Indian doctor Amish Shah wins Arizona Democratic congressional primary: Who is he? | Today’s news
Moderate Amish Shah won the Democratic primary for the Arizona House of Representatives’ first district on Wednesday, defeating the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which backed a challenger as more voters reject the preferences of party leaders in Washington.
Democrats’ bid for majority control of the House depends in part on their ability to win that race in the Nov. 3 general election.
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Shah, an emergency physician, will face Republican Jay Feely, a former NFL football player who was endorsed by President Donald Trump in the primary, in the fall.
Before they became political opponents, Feely and Shah were part of the same team – the New York Jets. Shah was the sideline doctor while Feely was the kicker.
The DCCC endorsed Marlene Galán-Woods, a former Republican who switched parties early in Trump’s first term.
Who is Amish Shah?
Dr. Amish Shah is an emergency medicine physician and former member of the Arizona House of Representatives. He won three straight elections to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
During five years in the state legislature, Dr. Shah focused on raising teacher pay, supporting small businesses, and improving public health and safety.
He believes politicians should stay out of personal medical decisions and will work tirelessly to ensure women have the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies, according to a profile on his website.
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Amish likes to play basketball, fly small airplanes, and go on adventure travel. He speaks conversational Spanish and is fluent in Gujarati. She has three adopted cats named Hillary, Miss Meowerson and Cousin Oliver.
All about the election
The race for the 1st Congressional District, an affluent area that includes northeast Phoenix, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills and Paradise Valley, is expected to help determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Although Republicans have a voter registration advantage, the district has shifted toward the center over the past decade.
The seat is open because Republican Rep. David Schweikert ran for governor and lost to Rep. Andy Biggs in the GOP primary on Tuesday.
The DCCC’s decision to endorse Galán-Woods, a former television journalist in Phoenix, confused local Democrats because there was little ideological difference between her and Shah. Both are moderates, and the race was not a proxy fight in the party’s deepening rift between progressives and centrists.
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“Our victory in this primary was a grassroots victory where the voters of Arizona voted,” Shah said in a statement Wednesday night that did not address the DCCC insult. “Now it’s my job to get the support of every voter in this district.”
The race was in some ways a repeat of 2024, when Shah narrowly won a crowded primary field that included Galán-Woods and lost in the general election. The DCCC did not endorse in the primary that year, but endorsed Shah in the general.
Shah: ‘I wasn’t exactly chosen for my party’
When Galán-Woods’ endorsement was announced in May, DCCC Chairwoman and U.S. Representative Suzan DelBene talked about her experience in broadcast journalism, but said nothing about Shah.
“I was not exactly the chosen one for my party,” Shah told supporters on Tuesday night. “And I was willing to stand up to the establishment. And that’s what the voters of this district want.”
Still, he said he would work with the DCCC if nominated.
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He will need the support of the party and its donors to win what is likely to be a tough race in a district Trump narrowly carried in 2024. Former Democratic President Joe Biden won the district in 2020, although Schweikert was re-elected.
DCCC support generally brings an influx of money and staffing, both from the party itself and from donors and lobbying groups. But establishment support was a problem for some voters.
“The Democratic Party needs to grow up and wake up,” said Maria Liong, a 24-year-old medical student who volunteered with Shah’s campaign. “They need to realize that they want candidates who listen to their people.”
‘old relationship’
In the GOP primary, Feely defeated Joseph Chaplik, a former state legislator popular with local activists, for the party’s nomination. He was in the NFL for 14 seasons with seven teams, including the Arizona Cardinals from 2010 to 2013. After retiring in 2014, he became an NFL broadcaster.
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According to his Jets campaign, Feely and Shah overlapped during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, when Shah served as the airway doctor at home games. Every NFL game has a respiratory control doctor on the sidelines to intubate and resuscitate a catastrophically injured player.
“It’s an old relationship,” Feely said of Shah on Tuesday night, before it was clear which Democrat he would face in November. “But whoever it is, I want to do it the right way. I want to run it the right way.”
