Amish Shah won the Democratic primary in Arizona's 1st Congressional District on Wednesday, defeating Marlene Galán-Woods and setting up a November contest with Republican Jay Feely.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee backed former broadcast journalist Marlene Galán-Woods in the primary, announcing its support in May when it added her to a list of candidates it is supporting in Republican-controlled districts; DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DeBene highlighted Galán-Woods's broadcast experience.
Galán-Woods is a former Republican who switched parties at the beginning of President Donald Trump's first term. She was married to the late Grant Woods, a former Arizona attorney general who left the Republican Party over President Trump, and she signed a pledge last month rebuking the Democratic Party's left wing after several primary victories by democratic socialists.
The 1st District surrounds Phoenix and encompasses Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Fountain Hills and large swaths of land to the northeast of the city. The district, which President Donald Trump carried by three points in 2024, is affluent, has a Republican voter registration advantage and has shifted toward the center over the last decade; the race is expected to help determine control of the U.S. House. Former President Joe Biden won the district in 2020 even as Rep. David Schweikert was reelected.
Shah, an emergency physician, won the district's Democratic primary in 2024 and then lost the general election to Rep. David Schweikert by four points. The seat is open after Schweikert ran in the Republican primary for governor and lost to Rep. Andy Biggs.
“Our victory in this primary was a grassroots victory where Arizona voters made their voices heard,” Shah said in a statement Wednesday night, and he said he would work with the DCCC if nominated. Shah also told supporters that he “wasn’t exactly my party’s pick” and that he was willing to stand up to the establishment.
Rep. Suzan DeBene issued a statement calling Feely an “extremist” and saying Shah “will always put his community first.” The National Republican Congressional Committee quickly released a digital ad attacking Shah, labeling him a socialist and tying him to progressives in Congress.
Antiestablishment fervor has led to other primary upsets this cycle, including Randy Villegas beating a DCCC-backed candidate in a top battleground district in California's Central Valley and Matt Dunlap defeating a moderate rival in Maine. “The Democratic Party needs to grow up and wake up,” said Maria Liong, a 24-year-old medical student who volunteered for Shah's campaign.
In the Republican primary, Jay Feely defeated former state Rep. Joseph Chaplik. Chaplik, a member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, resigned from his legislative seat to focus on running. Feely, a former NFL kicker who spent four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, was endorsed by President Donald Trump; he initially ran in Arizona's 5th District, and Trump issued multiple endorsements this cycle, including a double endorsement backing Feely and Gina Swoboda, who later dropped out to run for Arizona secretary of state.
Feely spent 14 seasons with seven NFL teams and played for the Cardinals from 2010 to 2013; he became an NFL broadcaster after retiring in 2014. Feely and Shah overlapped on the New York Jets during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, when Shah worked home games as an airway management physician on the sideline. “I’m a political outsider committed to delivering results,” Feely said, and he described his past relationship with Shah as “an old relationship” while saying he intends to run the campaign the right way.