Shah triumphs over Feely in Arizona’s first congressional district

The Associated Press called the race for one of Arizona’s most competitive congressional seats for former state lawmaker and ER physician Amish Shah, upending years of Republican control in his second bid for Congress. 

As of Thursday afternoon, Shah held a seven point lead with 22,709 more votes than his Republican opponent, former NFL kicker Jay Feely. 

Congressional District 1 is both Arizona’s wealthiest district and one of the state’s most competitive. It has also been a target for major spending by both Democrats and Republicans who sought to control the seat and Congress. 

Republican Rep. David Schwiekert has held the seat since the district was drawn ahead of the 2022 election, but he ran for governor instead of seeking reelection. Schweikert lost to Andy Biggs in the July primary election, who went on to lose to incumbent Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in the general election.

CD1 leans Republican but  has for years been a target for national Democrats who hoped to flip the seat. Last cycle, Schweikert got 52% of votes to Shah’s 48%. 

Feely, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, was hit hard by Democrats who sought to capitalize on Trump’s unpopularity among voters as a way of securing votes for Shah. Feely’s campaign aimed to connect Shah to a recent wave of more far-left Democratic candidates that have been sweeping the country. Feely also had the backing of the far-right Turning Point USA, which helped organize a rally for the MAGA faithful earlier this year alongside Trump. 

Polling prior to the election showed Shah with a lead of about four percentage points over Feely in a district that favored Trump by three percentage points in 2024. 

Shah, in a post to social media, commended Feely for a “hard-fought race.” 

“To every voter in this district – I pledge to be a Representative for all of you, whether or not you voted for me,” the post said, adding that he intends to work in a bipartisan way in Washington D.C.. “Let’s end the political toxicity and work on lowering costs, expanding health care coverage, solving our water crisis, and growing our economy.” 

Other major Congressional races in the state that have yet to be called include CD6, where Democratic challenger JoAnna Mendoza is leading by 8 points over Republican incumbent Juan Ciscomani as well as CD2 where Republican incumbent Eli Crane holds a 2,235 vote lead over his challenger, Jonathan Nez, who lost to Crane in 2024 by nine points in the historically red district.