Amish Shah wins Arizona primary, sets up Congress battle with Trump-backed Feely

Washington,UPDATED: Jul 23, 2026 10:40 IST

Indian-American Amish Shah, a moderate Democrat, has won the House primary for Arizona's First District, defeating establishment-backed candidate Marlene Galan-Woods in a closely fought contest. Shah, an emergency medicine doctor and three-term member of the Arizona House of Representatives, will now face Republican candidate Jay Feely, an NFL kicker backed by US President Donald Trump, in the November election to the US Congress.

Shah's win came after a grassroots campaign in which he went door to door and reached nearly 28,000 homes. After securing the Democratic nomination, he said, "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."

Shah defeated former broadcast journalist Galan-Woods, who was backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She is the third DCCC-backed candidate to lose a contested House primary this year, after Jasmeet Bains in California and Joe Baldacci in Maine. This is also the second straight time Shah has won the district's Democratic primary. He had won the Democratic primary in 2024 before losing the general election to Republican David Schweikert by four points.

Schweikert, an eight-term lawmaker, chose to contest the Republican primary for Arizona governor instead. He lost that primary to Andy Biggs, the Trump-backed nominee. Shah and Feely, now rivals from opposite sides of the political spectrum, also share a past connection: Shah was the NFL physician providing emergency care to the New York Jets, the team for which Feely played as kicker.

Born in Chicago to Gujarati parents who moved to the US in the 1960s, Shah earned his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School through the Honours Programme in Medical Education. His father is Jain and his mother is Hindu. He later received a full merit scholarship for a Master's in Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, and went on to complete residency training in Emergency Medicine at New York City's busiest Level-1 trauma centre.

Outside medicine and politics, Shah founded the first Arizona Vegetarian Food Festival as a philanthropic effort to promote healthy eating and prevent disease. He also contributes to Sounds Academy and the Humane Society of the United States, along with several other charities. According to his campaign website, he enjoys playing basketball, flying small aeroplanes and adventurous travel. He speaks conversational Spanish and is fluent in Gujarati. Shah also has three adopted cats named Hillary, Miss Meowerson and Cousin Oliver. With his primary win secured, Shah now heads into the November contest against Feely after a campaign built around grassroots outreach and a profile that combines public service, medicine and community work.

With PTI Inputs

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