August 1st , 2026 Len’s Political Note #828 Amish Shah Arizona 01
2026 General Election
They meet again. In 2008 and 2009, the New York Jets kicker was Jay Feely. During those two years, the home game team physician was Amish Shah.
They will meet in 2026. Amish Shah is the Democratic candidate eager to flip the toss up Arizona 01 seat. Jay Feely is the Republican candidate defending that district for the Republicans.
Jay Feely comes from a sports family. His grandfather coached college baseball and basketball. His dad played football and other sports and coached tennis. Jay Feely was a kicker in the National Football League. Before that, he kicked for Michigan and was Tom Brady’s teammate. In addition to playing for the New York Jets, he kicked for the Atlanta Falcons, the New York Giants, the Miami Dolphins, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chicago Bears, and, important for this race, for the Arizona Cardinals from 2010 to 2014 – his final season playing football. Subsequently, he worked as an announcer.
Once that we know of, Feely’s contrariness got him into trouble. Despite an outstanding season with the Miami Dolphin, the team’s Vice President Bill Parcells seems to have disliked Feely’s insistence that players be able speak openly to the press. He thought they could talk about reasons for the Dolphins lack of success. Despite Feely’s three-year contract, Parcells released him before he began his second season.
Feely has one small scandal outside of football to his credit, but it is not unimportant for politics. In 2018 he published a photograph of himself holding a pistol while standing between his daughter and her prom date. After quite a lot of critical feedback, he insisted that this was a joke and that the weapon was unloaded.
However outspoken he may be, Feely has Donald Trump’s support. Trump loves candidates who combine professional sports with politics and Feely describes himself as a “staunch supporter of President Trump and the America First Agenda.” Feely promises to bring the “toughness and discipline” that marked his football career to Congress. He says he will fight the DC establishment protecting Arizona’s water, farmers, ranchers, Second Amendment rights, and stopping out of control mandates….”
Amish Shah is the son of Gujarati Indian immigrant parents and was born in Chicago. Mom is Hindu, dad is a Jain. He did not play football in high school or college. He earned a BA in economics and an MD at Northwestern. He earned a Master’s in Public Health from the University of California Berkeley and completed his residency in New York City. In New York, he joined the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine as a Researcher and faculty member while also doing his stint with the New York Jets.
Beginning in 2013, Amish Shah split his time between serving as the Chief Medical Officer for Urgent Consult in New York City and serving as an Attending Physician at the Yuma, Arizona Regional Medical Center. After three subsequent years as an Attending at IASIS Healthcare in Arizona, he was again dividing his time. Now it was between serving as an Attending at Dignity Health in Phoenix and as a Member of the Arizona House of Representatives. In 2024 he to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix while also running for Congress from the first Congressional District.
He won the primary, but lost the election. The victory and the loss were by narrow margins. The top four in the Democratic primary in 2024 ranged between Amish Shah’s 23.5% and the fourth place finisher’s 18.5%. He lost the election to incumbent David Schweikert 52-48.
Amish Shah won the 2026 Democratic primary despite a relationship with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reminiscent of Feely’s relationship with Bill Parcells. Amish Shah rejected the DCCC’s insistence that he spend hours raising money. Instead, he had insisted on spending his time doing door-to-door campaigning. Furthermore, he was not comfortable with the DCCC. His legislative work, he believed was with legislative colleagues anywhere along the political spectrum to produce legislation in the interests of his constituents. The DCCC preferred a different candidate and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to prevent Amish Shah from winning the primary. Despite the DCCC, Amish Shah’s 5 point victory was a better margin than the 2 point primary victory in 2024.
If you are a Democratic likely big donor, do not expect Amish Shah to call you. Instead, I am asking you. DONATE to Amish Shah’s campaign. If you are a small donor, donate a little more than usual. Both the Republican and the Democrat came through primaries a little depleted. Amish Shah had $400,000 on July 1; Jay Feely had $800,000. If he wins, you will get a Congressman who is willing to negotiate with Democratic Socialists and/or Republicans to get legislation that is his understanding of what is good for Americans. It is difficult to. predict who will win this election. There have been no polls since November, 2025.
Other State Wide Arizona races
Governor. Democratic Incumbent Katie Hobbs will face Republican Congressman Andy Biggs in the general election. As governor, her executive orders included prohibitions against discrimination in state contracts, her commissions have included a study of creating independent oversight of prisons. Her numerous vetoes included a controversial one that prevented authorization of the sale of unregulated home-made perishable goods. Congressman Andy Biggs was an active proponent of claiming that Trump won the 2020 election and was among the eight extreme-right Members who began the ouster of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker. The most recent poll, in May, showed Katie Hobbs leading by between 4 and 7 points. DONATE to Katie Hobbs. Help her keep that lead. See Len’s Political Note 712.
Attorney General. Democratic incumbent Kris Mayes will face State Senate President Warren Peterson. Kris Mayes won the closest attorney general race in the country in 2022. As AG, Mayes opposed Kroger’s acquisition of Albertson’s markets, investigated a county’s use of its funds to intimidate a candidate, and raised the possibility that Trump’s statement about Liz Cheney constituted a death threat. As State Senate President, Warren Peterson proposed that gender affirming surgery on minors be prohibited, a bill that became law under Katie Hobbs’ Republican predecessor. With the state Trucking Association, he opposed the EPA’s vehicle standards. He led the state Senate to hire the Cyber Ninjas to audit Maricopa County’s 2020 election results. There are no polls for this race. DONATE Keep Kris Mayes as Arizona’s Attorney General. See Len’s Political Note
Secretary of State Democratic incumbent Adrian Fontes is probably the country’s best known state Secretary of State. He will face 2020 election denier State Rep Alexander Kolodin. Adrian Fontes was critical of the Cyber Ninja vote audit and spoke to Congress about the importance of providing protection for election workers. Alexander Kolodin filed suit to overturn Arizona’s 2020 presidential election and represented alternative electors from that year. DONATE to Adrian Fontes. Sustain the integrity of Arizona elections. See Len’s Political Note #773.
Arizona Congressional Race
Arizona 02. Democrat Jonathan Nez is the former president of the Navajo Nation. He ran unsuccessfully in 2024 against the Republican incumbent Eli Crane. Crane has promoted conspiracy theories about Trump assassination attempts and attempted to impeach a US District Judge who hampered DOGE’s access to individual financial records. DONATE to Jonathan Nez. This is a year when Nez could win.
Arizona 05. Democrat and nurse Elizabeth Lee is a nationally recognized expert on fertility issues. She is opposing the Republican nominee for what had been Andy Bigg’s seat in Congress. This is probably as good an opportunity for a Democrat as possible for AZ 05. Without an incumbent, Republicans have nominated Trump-endorsed Sheriff Mark Lamb. After running businesses ranging from paintball to pest control, he was elected sheriff and is now nominated for Congress. He is calling for an American moral renewal even though several women have claimed he has sent them sexual messages and photos. One woman has claimed he threatened to charge her with “revenge porn” if she wrote publicly about their former relationship. There are no polls for this race. Nevertheless, this seems like a moment when Democrats could flip this Republican seat. Lamb entered July with only $250,000 in his pocket. Lee had much less — $25,000. DONATE to Elizabeth Lee. She could catch up.
Arizona 06. Democrat and retired Marine Drill Instructor JoAnn Mendoza is challenging incumbent Juan Ciscomani in this toss up district. A poll In June funded by Democrats had Mendoza ahead by 2 points. In March, a Republican funded poll had her ahead by 3. This is a big money contest. On July 1, the incumbent had $4.1 million. JoAnn Mendoza was not far behind with $3.3 million. The candidates and their donors think this is a contest. You should, too. DONATE to JoAnn Mendoza. See Len’s Political Note #762
Arizona 09. Like Arizona 05, no one thinks this is a contest. Danielle may be tilting at windmills. She and her husband are both retired from the Navy. She was a Petty Officer on a destroyer and holds a Master’s Degree in industrial organizational psychology. While she does some consulting, looking at the world we are living in, she decided on Congress. She is building a volunteer force to run against incumbent Paul Gosar. Formerly a dentist, he joined the Tea Party Republicans and has remained on the far right of the Republican party. He is another election denier and might be called an extreme extremist. He was censured in 2012 by Congress for posting an animated video of him killing Alexandrea Ocasio-Cortez. A July 1 report in Tuscon.com questioned Gosar’s health. Only, 67 years old, he has apparently appeared frail in his very rare public appearances and has not raised much money. On July 1, he had $300,000. Danielle Sterbinsky only had $25,000, though. DONATE to her campaign. After all, even if you tilt at windmills, you might just come up against one that is ready to fall down..
Neighboring States
Nevada Governor Democratic State Attorney General Aaron Ford trailed the incumbent governor by 3 points in a July poll, but a worrisome 50-47. Later in July, the Democratic Governors’ Association sponsored a poll that found the race closer – even, in fact. With Aaron Ford tied with Republican Governor Joe Lombardo at 44, there is a lot of room for either candidate to grow. If you want to help Aaron Ford’s poll numbers to grow, DONATE to his campaign. See Len’s Political Note #745
Nevada 03. Democratic incumbent Susie Lee is widely considered her party’s most vulnerable Member of Congress in Nevada. Daughter of an Ohio mechanic, she went to college as a swimmer and became a water technology specialist. After working in Massachusetts, she got a job in Las Vegas where she met and married a partner in one of the casinos. She became a philanthropist and eventually a Congressional candidate. See Len’s Political Note #770
New Mexico 02. Democratic incumbent Gabe Vasquez is widely considered his party’s most vulnerable Member of Congress in New Mexico. From city councilor to Congress, he has been a blue collar environmentalist. He has a new challenge as his previously very poor district has become a site for extracting fossil fuels. He is winning the financial race with $2.4 million to ex cop Gregg Cunningham’s $800,000 on June 30. A Republican funded poll in April found Vasquez leading by 2 or tied with Cunningham. Help Gabe Vasquez stay in the lead. DONATE to his campaign. See Len’s Political Note #755.
