Faced With Competitive Race, GOP Takes To Dubbing Amish Shah ‘Socialist’ And ‘Communist’

India-West News Desk

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Democrat Amish Shah is facing an increasingly pointed Republican effort to portray him as a socialist as he campaigns for an open Arizona congressional seat that could help determine control of the U.S. House.

Shah, an emergency medicine doctor and former Arizona state representative, is challenging Trump endorsed Republican Jay Feely for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. The race is considered one of roughly 20 competitive House contests that could affect the balance of power in Congress, reports ABC15 Arizona.

The district includes northeast Phoenix, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills and Cave Creek. Joe Biden narrowly carried it in 2020, while Donald Trump narrowly won it in 2024. Republican Rep. David Schweikert, who has held the seat since 2011, did not seek re-election and instead ran unsuccessfully for governor.

Feely, a former NFL kicker and broadcaster, brings considerable name recognition to the contest. Shah, meanwhile, is seeking to build on his record as a moderate Democrat in the state Legislature.

That record has not prevented Republicans from making his views on healthcare and his past association with progressive activists a central campaign issue.

According to a Reuters report, the National Republican Congressional Committee in September sent mailers depicting Shah in a red suit with a hammer-and-sickle pin and warning voters about what it called his “radical socialist agenda.”

The Republican attacks point to a 2019 event co-hosted by a chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, where Shah praised Senator Bernie Sanders and his call for government-funded universal healthcare, Reuters reported.

“I’m not a socialist. I believe in capitalism as a great tool for promoting human prosperity,” Shah told Reuters.

The campaign against Shah comes as Democratic candidates in competitive races around the country are increasingly emphasizing their support for capitalism. Reuters reported that more than 60 Democratic candidates, including 10 sitting members of Congress, have signed a pledge organized by Promise to America declaring, “we are capitalist, not socialist.”

For Shah, the issue has become particularly significant because of the competitiveness of his district. Reuters noted that he was regarded as one of Arizona’s more moderate Democrats during his time in the state Legislature and occasionally broke with his party to vote with Republicans.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has also sought to counter the Republican attacks running advertisements highlighting Shah’s support for a Republican-backed 2022 anti-drug-trafficking bill.

Shah previously ran for the same congressional seat in 2024, narrowly winning the Democratic primary before losing to Schweikert in the general election. He returned this year and won the Democratic nomination despite the DCCC backing another candidate in the primary.