Exclusive: Democrat Amish Shah wins second police endorsement over Feely
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Amish Shah. Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
Amish Shah, the Democrat nominee in Arizona's 1st Congressional District, has picked up a second notable endorsement from a law enforcement union in his race against Republican candidate Jay Feely.
Why it matters: The endorsement, from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Deputies Law Enforcement Association (DLEA), gives the former state lawmaker and longtime emergency room doctor a boost as he looks to flip a seat that Republicans have controlled for years.
- Shah also picked up an endorsement last week from the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Arizona.
What they're saying: "Amish Shah worked with us to make sure law enforcement officers got the resources and support they need to keep Arizonans safe," DLEA president Chris Clark says in a statement to Axios.
- In an interview, Clark clarified that DLEA's endorsement "has nothing to do with concerns about Jay Feely" and that it boiled down to the organization's "long-standing history of working with" Shah.
- The Feely campaign could not be reached for comment, but National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesperson Ben Petersen noted that Feely was endorsed by Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell and said, "Shah is too compromised by his liberal agenda to keep Arizonans safe.”
State of play: DLEA backed long-shot Republican candidate John Trobough over Feely in the primary.
- DLEA has also endorsed Republican Mark Lamb in Arizona's 5th Congressional District.
- Two years ago, when Shah ran (and lost) against incumbent Republican Rep. David Schweikert, the DLEA stayed out of the race.
Zoom in: In his five years in the Arizona House of Representatives, Shah regularly crossed the aisle to support pro-law enforcement bills, including measures to lower the threshold for a felony fentanyl trafficking charge.
- "I was the guy who stood up to my own party when it was difficult to do what I thought was in the best interest of public safety," Shah tells Axios.
Yes, but: Shah was light on details when asked about his position on two hot-button police oversight issues.
- He says federal monitoring of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office "cannot just keep going on forever and ever." Citing compliance costs, Republicans have pushed a federal judge to end that oversight, which was implemented in 2013.
- The sheriff's office has not met all of the conditions for doing so, particularly clearing a backlog of internal investigations complaints. "I can't comment on that," Shah said when asked about the backlog, adding that "whatever is going on in that system, let's fix the problem and move on."
- Shah has little to say about the Department of Justice's 2024 investigation into the Phoenix Police Department, which found officers regularly violated the constitutional rights of residents. "It's been a little while since I looked at that," he says.
The other side: The NRCC recently attempted to brand Shah as an anti-police radical who wants to abolish ICE and has associations with groups that at one point supported defunding the police.
- Shah said in a primary debate that ICE needs to "start over" but did not call for it to be dismantled.
- He notes to Axios that he "stood up for police officers when some people in my party were calling for defunding the police."
- Clark says he applauds Shah for "opposing the defund the police movement."
The bottom line: The police endorsements add more intrigue into what's expected to be a tight race that could determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.