Amish Shah claims victory in Arizona, 6th Indian-American in US House

WASHINGTON: Indian-American physician Amish Shah has made history after becoming the first from the community to represent Arizona in Congress.

Shah, 48, claimed victory in the election for the US House of Representatives from Arizona's First Congressional District on Wednesday.

"Arizona, it's the honour of a lifetime to be your next congressman," Shah said in a post on X on Wednesday.

Shah became the sixth Indian American to be elected to the US House of Representatives.

Shah, a three-term member of the Arizona House of Representatives, defeated Republican Jay Feely, a former National Football League player, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Shah and Feely were locked in a close battle, with the Democrat bagging 52.49 per cent of the vote against his rival’s 45.45 per cent. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 8:39 pm EST on Wednesday.

“It's not easy running for public office, and I commend Jay Feely on a hard-fought race,” Shah said.

“To every voter in this district - I pledge to be a Representative for all of you, whether or not you voted for me,” he said.

"Let’s end the political toxicity and work on lowering costs, expanding health care coverage, solving our water crisis, and growing our economy,” he said, adding that “Now it’s time to get to work.”

Shah won three straight elections for the Arizona State House of Representatives in 2018, 2020, and 2022. He ran for United States Congress in Arizona’s First Congressional District, one of the top pick-up opportunities for Democrats in the entire country.

Shah made history as he became the first Indian-American to represent Arizona in Congress. By defeating Feely, Shah flipped a Republican-held seat.

Indian American Impact congratulated Shah on his victory in Arizona's 1st Congressional District.

Shah “has been a champion for Arizonans since 2019 when he was first elected to the AZ House of Representatives. Now, he'll take the fight to Washington, DC to fight for working families,” the Indian American Impact said.

Chintan Patel, Executive Director of Indian American Impact, said Shah earned this seat one conversation at a time.

"He knocked on more than 28,000 doors and talked with voters across this district about what they’re facing: health care they can’t afford and costs that keep climbing. As an emergency room doctor, he has seen firsthand what unaffordable care does to families, and he ran to lower those costs."

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.

Born in Chicago to Gujarati parents who immigrated to the US in the 1960s, Shah earned his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University and his medical degree at Northwestern University Medical School as part of the Honours Program in Medical Education.

Shah’s father is Jain and his mother is Hindu.

He received a full merit scholarship to obtain a Master’s in Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, followed by residency training in Emergency Medicine at New York City's busiest Level-1 trauma centre.

Shah was among the several Indian-American candidates in the race for public office, and who emerged victorious, in the US midterm elections that concluded Tuesday and delivered a significant rebuke to President Donald Trump and the Republicans as the Democrats gained control of the House and Senate, flipping seats and traditional party strongholds in a massive blue wave across America.