Dems Back Amish Shah, Pia Dandiya In Red To Blue Program
India-West News Desk
WASHINGTON, DC – The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has added Arizona congressional candidate Amish Shah and Florida candidate Pia Dandiya to its Red to Blue program, a move signaling the party’s confidence that both races will be among its top targets in the 2026 midterm elections.
The Red to Blue program is the DCCC’s competitive candidate initiative that provides organizational and fundraising support to candidates in districts viewed as critical to winning or protecting the Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Shah, an emergency room physician and former Arizona state representative, recently won the primary and is running in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. In announcing his selection, the DCCC described him as a community-focused physician who has spent months meeting voters across the district.
The committee said Shah is focused on lowering costs, improving health care, and putting Arizona families ahead of partisan politics. It highlighted his experience representing parts of the district in the Arizona House and described him as an independent voice with a record of rejecting partisan extremism.
Shah celebrated the designation in a post on X, calling it confirmation that Arizona’s 1st District will be “one of the most competitive House races in the country.”
“We can flip this seat,” Shah wrote, adding that “the path to a majority runs through AZ-01.”
He also said his campaign has support from Democrats, Republicans and independents and pledged to continue building a broad coalition through November. Shah urged supporters to contribute, saying the designation would bring increased Republican attention to the race.
The DCCC also added Pia Dandiya, a Democrat running in Florida’s open 22nd Congressional District, to the program.
DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene said Dandiya, a working mother, former high school principal, policy leader and technology innovator, has dedicated her career to serving her community.
“While Republicans attempted to gerrymander South Florida to distract from their trail of broken promises, Pia stepped up to serve working people and has hit the ground running to give Floridians the dedicated leadership they deserve,” DelBene said.
Dandiya called the selection “a testament to the growing momentum for a new kind of leadership across South Florida.”
She said her campaign is focused on combating corruption in Washington, lowering everyday costs, including health care and utility bills, and ensuring residents of Florida’s 22nd District have a strong voice in Congress. Dandiya entered the race after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new congressional map that left the district without an incumbent.
Although the redesigned district now leans Republican, Democrats believe Dandiya can compete in the open-seat race. The district has more registered Republicans than Democrats, and about 55% of voters backed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Under the same district lines, however, Joe Biden would have carried the seat with 51% of the vote in 2020, according to Florida Politics.
