By Staff Reporter |
Congressional candidate Amish Shah vowed to represent a further left faction of the Democratic Party should he be elected.
Shah made the promise during a recent candidate forum hosted by LD3 Democrats. His shift represented a reflection on his 2024 loss against Rep. David Schweikert (R-01), who is running for governor. Shah served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2019 to 2024.
Per Shah, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) told him that he was too much of a “nice guy” to win the 2024 election. The DCCC refused to endorse Shah this time around, instead endorsing his primary opponent, Marlene Galan-Woods, earlier this month.
It appears Shah’s response was to move aggressively to the left on policy.
“I am not hesitating one bit to use my platform to be able to prosecute [President Donald Trump and Republicans] as vigorously as I can, sometimes with expletives or whatever it takes,” said Shah during the LD3 virtual forum.
Shah also promised to repeal Trump’s tax cuts for working families. He called them “abominable.”
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ben Peteresen told The Yellow Sheet, which first reported on this virtual forum, that Shah’s statements were “radical.”
“Democrat Amish Shah said he lost because Biden and Harris were toxic, then ran even further left by calling for massive tax increases, socialism and open borders,” said Petersen.
The version of his candidacy that Shah presented on that virtual forum diverges slightly from the public version of his candidacy.
Shah has publicly claimed that he doesn’t recognize party differences and would work across the aisle to solve problems.
“When I served in the Arizona House, I didn’t see ‘Democrats’ and ‘Republicans.’ I saw problems that needed to be solved,” said Shah. “I’m running for Congress to bring that same mindset to Washington; focus on solutions, find common ground where we can, and actually deliver results that improve people’s lives.”
Shah’s platform on his campaign website focuses on expanding federal healthcare, codifying abortion, ending tariffs, and increasing public school funding and teacher pay. On his “resources” page targeting primary opponent Galan-Woods, Shah promised to pass a ban on stock trading by members of Congress.
Similarly, in his failed 2024 challenge to incumbent Schweikert, Shah styled himself as an “independent” candidate — despite his consistently progressive actions in the state legislature and a past admission to his alliance with socialists.
In a town hall with the Phoenix Democratic Socialists of America and the Progressive Democrats of America in 2019, Shaw encouraged the adoption of government-run universal healthcare. Months prior to that town hall, Shah proposed replacing capitalism with socialism.
Shah received national recognition by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for successfully defending the abortion drug mifepristone against attempts to outlaw it.
Shah was also behind legislation to expand anti-discrimination laws to afford protections to gender identity and sexual orientation, and to redefine marriage within the state constitution.
Shah has funneled over $230,000 of his own money into his congressional campaign according to Federal Election Commission records. So far, Shah has raised nearly $1.9 million.
Top donors include the D.C. organizations IA Victory Fund and 314 Action Impact Slate; Illinois entrepreneur Purav Kapadia; and Chandler doctor Snehal Bhoola.
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