Amish Shah in 2023 on the floor of the Arizona House of Representatives. Photo by Gage Skidmore (modified) | Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
Former state Rep. Amish Shah is the victor in a packed primary for U.S. representative in Arizona’s First Congressional District.
The Associated Press called the race for Shah, a medical doctor, on Thursday evening after he’d garnered almost 24% of votes, about three percentage points ahead of his next-closest contender, Andrei Cherny.
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Cherny, former assistant Arizona attorney general and previous chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party, conceded in a statement released early Thursday evening.
“The margin may have been close, but our democracy works because we respect the will of the people,” Cherny said in the statement. “Although Tuesday’s results were not what we hoped for, I am deeply grateful to all those who gave their support and votes to our campaign. It was an incredible privilege to have had the chance to spend the past year and half fighting for a cause larger than myself.”
Cherny received support in the race from former President Bill Clinton, who he used to work for, and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.
Former broadcast journalist and widow of former Attorney General Grant Woods, Marlene Galán-Woods lagged just slightly behind Cherny.
Galán-Woods received the backing of many prominent Democrats, including Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, former Governor and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and numerous other current and former members of Congress.
Conor O’Callaghan, who works in finance, was around three percentage points behind Galán-Woods, with orthodontist Andrew Horne and Kurt Kroemer, former CEO of the Arizona/New Mexico region of the American Red Cross, trailing behind the other candidates.
Shah will go on to face incumbent Republican Congressman David Schweikert, who handily beat his opponents in the primary, Kim George and Robert Backie.
In a Thursday evening statement, The National Republican Congressional Committee called Shah “an extreme liberal” who endorsed socialism and voted against border security.
“Arizonans trust Representative David Schweikert to keep fighting to end the border crisis, combat inflation and lower taxesScottsdale and Phoenix voters will re-elect Congressman Schweikert to continue protecting their security and prosperity,” the NRCC said in a statement. “Arizonans will reject Shah’s extreme plans to dramatically raise their taxes, rip away their health insurance and exacerbate the border crisis.”
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