Amish Shah flips Arizona congressional seat
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Amish Shah in 2024. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Democrat Amish Shah won Arizona's highly competitive 1st Congressional District, flipping the seat after years of Republican control, the Associated Press projected Thursday morning.
Why it matters: Shah's victory in one of the country's most closely watched congressional races helped Democrats expand their House majority.
Driving the news: Shah had nearly 53% of the vote compared with Republican Jay Feely's 45% when the AP called the race at 10am.
- Libertarian Monica Alponte had about 2%.
- 86% of ballots had been reported.
What they're saying: In a statement on X posted Wednesday night, Shah said he was "honored that the people of Arizona's First Congressional District have chosen me to represent them in Congress."
- Feely addressed a crowd at close to 8:30pm on Tuesday night. "After the first ballot drop, we were down 11 points. That is not a good spot to be in," he said.
- But, he added, "I don't want to live my life looking in the rearview mirror."
State of play: Shah is an emergency room physician and former Arizona lawmaker who emphasized his bipartisan legislative record during the campaign.
- He pushed back on Republican efforts to portray him as a socialist and pointed to his moderate voting record and law enforcement endorsements.
Between the lines: Despite Republicans' substantial voter registration advantage in this Congressional District, Shah's win is partly thanks to the support he racked up from independents, Thom Reilly, an ASU professor and the co-director of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy, tells Axios.
- Given Feely's closeness with President Trump, the election results also reflect voters' broader dissatisfaction with the president and the direction of the country, Reilly says.
The other side: Feely is a former NFL kicker and sports broadcaster who had never held elected office.
- Trump endorsed Feely during the Republican primary.
- Feely argued that his relationship with Trump would give Arizona a direct line to the White House, while saying he would break with the president when the state's interests were at stake.
Flashback: Shah was also the Democratic nominee for the district in 2024, when Republican David Schweikert defeated him by 3.8 percentage points.
- Trump carried the district by about 3 points that same year.
The big picture: Shah is among several candidates with medical backgrounds elected to major office Tuesday, including Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed and Ohio Gov.-elect Amy Acton.
- "That feels symbolic in so many ways of the spirit of healing, service, and positivity that Democrats ran on," Adin Lenchner, founder of Carroll Street Campaigns, a political consultancy group, tells me.
Zoom out: The district includes Scottsdale, parts of northeast Phoenix, Fountain Hills and Cave Creek.
What's next: Shah will take office in January and serve a two-year term.