Amish Shah Wins Arizona’s 1st Congressional District

Feely, a former National Football League player, had the endorsement of President Donald Trump and received 45.45% of the vote. Shah is the sixth Indian American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

In a social media post after his victory, Shah called representing Arizona “an honor of a lifetime” and pledged to serve voters whether or not they supported him. He said he wanted to “end the political toxicity” and work to lower costs, expand health care coverage, address Arizona’s water crisis and grow the economy.

Born in Chicago to Gujarati immigrants, Shah earned his undergraduate degree and studied medicine at Northwestern University, completing its Honours Program in Medical Education. He later received a Master’s in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley, on a full merit scholarship, and completed an Emergency Medicine residency at New York City’s busiest Level-1 trauma centre.

Shah provided emergency care as the NFL physician for the New York Jets, a team Feely was part of. He also holds a pilot’s licence and has flown himself to provide health care in underserved communities across Arizona.

Before running for Congress, Shah served three terms in the Arizona House of Representatives, winning elections in 2018, 2020 and 2022. He focused there on teacher pay and public health and safety. Two years ago, he ran for the U.S. House and narrowly lost to Schweikert. In this year’s campaign, Shah emphasized lowering health care costs and protecting Social Security and Medicare.