Indian-American Amish Shah wins Democratic primary in Arizona

Indian-origin physician Amish Shah has won the Democratic congressional primary for Arizona’s First District, defeating the establishment-backed candidate in a keen contest.

Shah, 48, known for his door-to-door campaign style where he reached out to nearly 28,000 homes, will take on NFL kicker Jay Feely, the Republican candidate backed by US President Donald Trump for the November election to the US Congress.

Shah, a three-term member of the Arizona House of Representatives, defeated former broadcast journalist Marlene Galan-Woods, a candidate backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Galan-Woods is the third DCCC-backed candidate to lose a contested House primary this year, including Jasmeet Bains in California and Joe Baldacci in Maine. Now on opposite sides of the political spectrum, Shah and Feely have a shared history. The Democratic candidate was the NFL physician providing emergency care to the New York Jets – the team for which Feely was the kicker.