Daijiworld Media Network – Washington
Washington, Jul 23: Indian-American physician and Arizona lawmaker Amish Shah has won the Democratic primary for Arizona's First Congressional District, defeating the Democratic establishment-backed candidate to secure the party's nomination for the November US congressional election.
Shah, an emergency medicine doctor and a three-term member of the Arizona House of Representatives, defeated former broadcast journalist Marlene Galan-Woods, who was backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
He will now face Republican candidate Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker endorsed by US President Donald Trump, in the November election.
Known for his extensive grassroots campaign, Shah personally visited nearly 28,000 homes during the primary campaign.
His victory marks the third defeat this year for a DCCC-backed candidate in a contested House primary, following losses by Jasmeet Bains in California and Joe Baldacci in Maine.
Interestingly, Shah and Feely share a professional connection. Shah previously served as an NFL physician providing emergency medical care to the New York Jets, the team for which Feely played as a kicker.
Born in Chicago to Gujarati immigrant parents who moved to the United States in the 1960s, Shah completed his undergraduate studies and medical degree at Northwestern University through its Honours Programme in Medical Education.
His father follows Jainism, while his mother is Hindu.
He later received a full merit scholarship to pursue a Master's in Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, before completing his residency in emergency medicine at one of New York City's busiest Level-1 trauma centres.
Reacting to his victory, Shah described the result as a triumph for grassroots politics.
"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," he said.
This is the second consecutive election cycle in which Shah has secured the Democratic nomination for the district. In 2024, he won the party's primary but lost the general election to Republican David Schweikert by four percentage points.
Schweikert later chose to contest the Republican primary for Arizona governor but lost to Trump-backed candidate Andy Biggs.
Apart from his medical and political career, Shah founded the Arizona Vegetarian Food Festival to promote healthy eating and disease prevention. He is also associated with charitable organisations including Sounds Academy and the Humane Society of the United States.
According to his campaign profile, Shah enjoys basketball, flying small aircraft and travelling. He speaks conversational Spanish and is fluent in Gujarati. He also has three adopted cats named Hillary, Miss Meowerson and Cousin Oliver.