Democrat Amish Shah Defeats Republican Jay Feely in Arizona's 1st Congressional District

Democrat Amish Shah Defeats Republican Jay Feely in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District

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Democrat Amish Shah defeated Republican Jay Feely in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, flipping a seat left open by U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who ran for governor. The Associated Press called the race on Thursday, with Shah leading 52.5% to 45.4%, a margin of 22,494 votes. Libertarian Monica Alponte had about 2% of the vote when the race was called.

Election Results

When the Associated Press made its call, 86% of ballots had been reported. Shah declared victory Wednesday evening, before the race was officially called. According to Axios, Shah had nearly 53% of the vote compared with Feely’s 45% when the AP called the race at 10am.

Candidates and Campaigns

As an emergency room physician and a former Arizona lawmaker, Shah stressed his bipartisan legislative record throughout the campaign. He countered Republican attempts to label him as a socialist and highlighted his moderate voting record and the support he received from law enforcement. Feely is a former NFL kicker and sports broadcaster who had never held elected office. Trump endorsed Feely during the Republican primary. Feely claimed that his connection to Trump would provide Arizona with a direct channel to the White House, while stating that he would part ways with the president when the state’s interests required it.

Outside groups spent more than $25 million after the primary. KTAR reports that approximately $16 million was spent to support Feely, largely through ads targeting Shah, while roughly $9 million was allocated to support Shah. By Oct. 14, Shah had reported about $206,000 in cash, and Feely had reported about $183,000 in addition to $330,000 in debt from loans he made to his own campaign.

Statements from the Candidates

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.” He added, “I pledge to be a Representative for all of you, whether or not you voted for me. I pledge to work in a bipartisan way in Congress, just like I did in the State House.”

Democrat Amish Shah Defeats Republican Jay Feely in Arizona's 1st Congressional District
Photo: azfamily.com

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.”

More on Democrat Amish Shah

Amish Shah declares victory Arizona's CD1 race
Democrat Holds Commanding Lead in Arizona's 1st Congressional District

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