Arizona’s most competitive congressional race has drawn a crowded Democratic primary full of hopefuls who think this is their best chance to finally flip the district blue.
Arizona's 1st Congressional District encompasses north Phoenix, Scottsdale and Cave Creek. Outgoing Republican Congressman David Schweikert has won seven consecutive elections there.
Democrats came closest to winning in 2022, when candidate Jevin Hodge lost by just eight tenths of a point.
This year, four Democrats say they’re the party’s best chance to take CD1: Amish Shah, Marlene Galán-Woods, Jonathan Treble and Rick McCartney.
Both Shah and Galán-Woods ran for the same seat in 2024. Galán-Woods came in third in the primary election. Shah won the primary but lost to Schweikert in the general.
The majority of CD1 also voted for Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego.
Shah’s opponents say that’s evidence he’s not the best choice to run again.
“Over 10,000 voters voted for Ruben and then voted for David Schweikert. That is not an enthusiasm gap; that is rejection of the candidate,” Galán-Woods at a candidate forum in Cave Creek.
Shah is a former state lawmaker and an ER doctor who grew up in Chicago. He joined the Democratic party in the ‘90s due to concern over climate change.
Shah said the thing that will make this race different from 2024 is that people are fed up with the Trump administration.
“They are upset with the blatant disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law coming out of the White House,” Shah said. “They are also upset about how ordinary Americans, everyday Americans, are suffering from financial hardship because of the policies of this administration.”
Knocking on doors with Amish Shah
As for what makes him stand out: Shah touts himself as the candidate who’s knocked on the most doors — over 27,000.
KJZZ reporter Camryn Sanchez tagged along on one of those excursions and spoke with Democrats.
Several of them recognized Shah and said he has their support. Concern about the Trump administration was indeed on voters' minds. Take Lawrence Loew.
“I'm anti-Trump plain and simple. He's been bad for America. I hate the war with Iran. We are worse off than when we started and meanwhile we spent at least $25 billion ... For what?” Loew said in a follow-up email. “And there's no money for ACA subsidies and education? As a voter, I like Shah. I think he is a good candidate. The fact that he's a doctor is a plus for me. I think he's competent.”
Meanwhile, voter Thomasina Johnston said her “Number 1 is climate change. Number 2 is doing whatever we can to stop the Trump administration. Those are my top two. Everything else pales to me.”
On the campaign trail, Shah highlights his past as the only candidate with experience legislating. Not only that, he was also able to pass more bills at the Legislature than any other Democrat.
That was actually the subject of some consternation in the Democratic caucus at the time, as Shah was known for working with Republicans and occasionally voting against the rest of the caucus. He has even earned a handful of endorsements by former GOP state legislators in this race, including former House Speaker Rusty Bowers.
“The reason they did that is not because they agree with me on every issue — some of them are quite conservative — but what they said was, ‘You serve down there with integrity and a public servant's heart. And we know that you're going to go there to try to solve problems and to move things forward for the American people,’” Shah said.
Treble and McCartney are first-time candidates and business owners.
Treble comes across as a progressive, advocating for Medicare for all, expanded Low Income Housing Tax Credits and universal childcare.
He noted that, unlike his opponents, he’s a lifelong Democrat and said he can still appeal to independents.
“Because I hold, you know, mainstream Democratic views, I am more progressive than the former Republicans that are running in this primary alongside me who are more mealy-mouthed about certain policies, who are not willing to embrace what I believe are mainstream Democratic policies,” Treble said.
His opponents say they’ll work across the aisle to get things done, but Treble says it’s not the time for that.
“If we don't have bold leadership now we won’t get it done and this is unfortunate, but this is not a time where we can expect to reach across the aisle and get help with republicans,” Treble said at the Cave Creek forum.
Galán-Woods is a former journalist and the widow of former state Attorney General Grant Woods. She’s also a former Republican.
She describes herself as the embodiment of the American dream. Galán-Woods is the daughter of Cuban immigrants, and she adopted a Guatemalan daughter. She says Trump’s deportation crackdown makes her fear for her daughter’s safety.
Democrat Robyn Anderson hosted a small campaign event for Galán-Woods at her home and said she and her husband were impressed with her past. They think a more middle of the road candidate is Democrats’ best bet.
“I like that she’s very moderate,” Anderson said. “I think that she can work across the party lines, and I think that’s what we need now.”
Galán-Woods said Republicans see her as their biggest threat and showed it by targeting her in 2024.
“You’re going to hear from me who Republicans think is the best candidate to take on the Republican nominee,” Galán-Woods said at the debate. “In the last primary election for this seat, 6 of us were running. I was the only one Republicans spent against.”
The political world was taken by surprise when the powerful Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee intervened and threw their endorsement behind Galán-Woods in May.
The DCCC is a national organization with a lot of political clout and the ability to fundraise massive amounts.
The organization doesn’t usually insert itself into competitive primary races, and it was a blow to Shah, who has been open with his disapproval.
The endorsement also raised eyebrows from other Democrats, like Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who pays dues to the committee.
She told KJZZ the DCCC shouldn’t get involved until after the primaries, like they did in CD1 last cycle.
Galán-Woods, meanwhile, has been quiet about how she secured the committee’s endorsement.
She’s also been endorsed by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. Galán-Woods chaired Fontes’ successful campaign in 2022.
McCartney owns a media company in CD1and says he’s been active in the district for many years helping Democrats like Mark Kelly and Katie Hobbs get elected in previous cycles. While he supported Shah in 2024, he now says Shah had his chance and community leaders encouraged McCartney to run.
He told a room full of Democrats at the Cave Creek forum that he’ll be the one to break the cycle of losing:
“We have lost this race for seven cycles. We will do it again,” McCartney said. “How many times are we going to do the same thing? That's the definition of frustration. I know all of us in our minds when we’re at home when we’re talking to our friends, all we are is frustrated. So we need something different, and my candidacy is different.”
Healthcare
For the Democrats in this district, healthcare is certainly a top issue and one where the candidates deviate.
Shah and Treble have something in common: making healthcare accessible is a driving force.
A few years ago, Treble had a brain growth, needed lifesaving surgery and struggled to get insurance coverage.
Treble said he supports Medicare for all, but not universal healthcare. Shah said he supports universal Medicare as a step towards ultimately getting universal healthcare.
Galán-Woods wouldn’t say whether she wants universal healthcare, but focused on the need to lower prescription drug prices. She said Medicaid should be expanded to cover vision and dental and the eligibility for Medicare should be lowered to 50.
McCartney said he wants all of the above.
“We have turned it [healthcare] into a profit center,” he said. “We have turned it into a health corporation if you will. This is a wellness care question. We need to be focused on wellness issues. We need to be focused on affordable prescription drugs.”
Areas of agreement
All the candidates share some priorities, like repealing HR 1 — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, restricting ICE activity and creating a pathway to citizenship for "Dreamers."
They’ve also been vocal about the need to hold the Trump administration accountable, including through impeaching the president.
“Impeachment is the job we need to do, not just him but members of this cabinet,” McCartney said at the Cave Creek forum. “If someone in this cabinet isn’t doing their job, they should be out.”
Committee assignment preferences
If elected, Galán-Woods said she’d like to serve on the House Natural Resources Committee to protect Arizona's Colorado River rights and the Oversight Committee.
“I think what we are seeing right now is the most corrupt presidency in our nation's history, and with the complicity of Republicans in Congress. So, I am in favor of having oversight hearings on all the things, on the corruption that is clearly going on in this administration, and other areas,” she said.
Shah said he’d like to be a part of the Energy Committee, Commerce Subcommittee on Health because of his expertise, and the Appropriations Committee.
Treble said he’d like to be on the Natural Resources Committee and the Small Business Committee.
The primary election will take place on July 21.
