Indian-American Amish Shah wins Democratic congressional primary from Arizona

Indian-American Amish Shah, a moderate Democrat, won the House primary for Arizona’s First District, defeating the establishment-backed candidate in a keen contest.

Mr. Shah, an emergency medicine doctor, known for his door-to-door campaign style where he reached out to nearly 28,000 homes, will take on NFL kicker Jay Feely, the Republican candidate backed by U.S. President Donald Trump for the November election to the U.S. Congress.

Mr. Shah, a three-term member of the Arizona House of Representatives, defeated former broadcast journalist Marlene Galan-Woods, a candidate backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Ms. Galan-Woods is the third DCCC-backed candidate to lose a contested House primary this year, including Jasmeet Bains in California and Joe Baldacci in Maine.

Now on opposite sides of the political spectrum, Mr. Shah and Mr. Feely have a shared history. The Democratic candidate was the NFL physician providing emergency care to the New York Jets — the team for which Mr. Feely was the kicker.

Born in Chicago to Gujarati parents who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1960s, Mr. Shah earned his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University and his medical degree at Northwestern University Medical School as part of the Honours Program in Medical Education. Mr. Shah’s father is Jain, and his mother is Hindu.

He received a full merit scholarship to obtain a Master’s in Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, followed by residency training in Emergency Medicine at New York City’s busiest Level-1 trauma centre. “Our victory in this primary was a grassroots victory where Arizona voters made their voices heard. Now, it’s my job to earn the support of every voter in this district – including Democrats who voted for another candidate, Independents frustrated with our political system, and Republicans disappointed with the state of the country,” Mr. Shah said after bagging the Democratic nomination.

Mr. Shah also contributes to Sounds Academy and the Humane Society of the United States, organisations that focus on children’s exposure to the arts and the promotion of a kind society, as well as several other charities According to his campaign website, Mr. Shah enjoys playing basketball, flying small airplanes, and embarking on adventurous travel. He speaks conversational Spanish and is fluent in Gujarati. Mr. Shah has three adopted cats named Hillary, Miss Meowerson, and Cousin Oliver.

This year marks the second consecutive time Mr. Shah won the district’s Democratic primary. He won the Democratic primary in 2024, before losing to Republican David Schweikert by four points in the general election.

Mr. Schweikert, an eight-term lawmaker, contested the Republican primary to be a candidate for the State’s gubernatorial election. He lost the primary to Andy Biggs, a Trump-backed nominee for Arizona Governor. Outside of his medical practice, he founded the first Arizona Vegetarian Food Festival as a philanthropic endeavour to promote healthy eating and eliminate preventable disease.