Amish Shah wins Democratic primary for key Arizona House district, defeating candidate backed by national party groups

Democrat Amish Shah will take on GOP nominee Jay Feely in the general election for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, The Associated Press projects, following primaries for both parties on Tuesday. 

Shah’s win against Republican-turned-Democrat Marlene Galán-Woods marks the latest high-profile defeat for the national Democratic Party. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s influence has been tested after its preferred candidates lost in Maine’s 2nd District and California’s 22nd District.  

Arizona’s 1st District, which covers Scottsdale and areas northeast of the city, is one of the most competitive House races in the country. The seat is currently held by eight-term GOP Rep. David Schweikert, who opted to instead run in the Republican primary for governor, a race he lost Tuesday to Rep. Andy Biggs. Schweikert has represented the district since 2023, and previously served as the representative for Arizona’s 5th and 6th districts. 

Galán-Woods — a former broadcast journalist who was married to the late Grant Woods, a former Arizona attorney general who left the Republican Party over President Trump — had the backing of the national party in the primary against Shah, a physician and former state legislator who was the Democrats’ nominee in 2024. Galán-Woods and Shah also ran against each other in 2024, with Shah going on to lose against Schweikert in the general election by nearly 4 percentage points. Galán-Woods finished third in that race. 

Galán-Woods signed a pledge last month rebuking the Democratic Party’s left wing after several primary victories by democratic socialists, highlighting the divide over the direction of the party’s future. 

In the GOP primary, Feely defeated former state lawmaker Joseph Chaplik. Chaplik, a member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, resigned from his legislative seat to focus on running for the House. 

Feely, an NFL veteran and former analyst for CBS Sports, initially ran in Arizona’s 5th District, but Mr. Trump endorsed one of Feely’s primary opponents and urged him to run in a different district or for another office. Mr. Trump then issued a double endorsement in the 1st District primary, backing Feely and Gina Swoboda, the former Arizona Republican Party chairwoman. Swoboda later dropped out of the race to run for Arizona secretary of state. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump issued another endorsement of Feely.