Here's why congressional candidate Amish Shah says he is 'not ideological'

Of the six Democrats running to challenge the incumbent U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., in November, former state Rep. Amish Shah is the only candidate with a legislative track record to speak of.

Yet his time in office defies an easy ideological label. Shah, a physician, shrugs off the exercise.

"I think that people would consider me a more practical person,” he said in an early July interview. “Not ideological.”

Shah has been more effective than many of his Democratic colleagues at getting his bills passed in a Republican-held state Legislature. On the campaign trail, he says he’s had more bills signed into law than any Arizona Democrat in more than a decade. He’s made a point of finding common ground across the aisle and accepting incremental compromise.

That approach has frustrated some Democrats. State Sen. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, who worked with Shah in the Arizona House and has endorsed one of his rivals in the Scottsdale-area congressional race, is among them.

“I think he believes in good values, but I did not see him being willing to fight for them,” Epstein said. “When it’s a matter of ripping our rights away … we need representatives who will draw a line.”

Shah's record has drawn comparisons to the outgoing U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, whose name has become a dirty word in Democratic circles after she frustrated several of the party’s legislative goals in Congress.

“She was somebody who got things done in the state Legislature by kowtowing to the Republican priorities and Republican leaders …  That is the same attitude she brought to Washington, D.C.,” argued Andrei Cherny, one of Shah’s current primary rivals who unsuccessfully ran against Sinema, I-Ariz., in 2012.

“When time and time again, you’ve been voting separate and apart from where the Democratic caucus has been, I think that’s an indication about what you’ll do when you get to Washington, D.C.”

Shah said he is perplexed by the comparison.

"When somebody goes down to the Legislature and tries to move legislation forward, is that a commonality? That somebody turns around and says, 'Well, that makes you the same as Kyrsten Sinema'?"

“In my mind, that’s kind of absurd,” he said.

But comparisons are tempting.

Echoing the political movement Sinema has flirted with, Shah said he tries “not to put labels on myself.” Both value compromise more, and partisanship less, than many of their peers. Shah, like Sinema once was, is a vegan.

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At the Legislature, Shah clashed with some members of his party

And though he boasts a long list of endorsements from his Democratic colleagues in the Legislature, Shah, like Sinema, has at times been ostracized from the caucus.

Former state Rep. Domingo DeGrazia, D-Tucson, confirmed a rumor that Shah was excluded from some caucus meetings for a time during the 2021-22 legislative session after “working contrary to leadership.” DeGrazia was the Democratic whip at the time.

Shah said he didn’t recall being banned from any meetings but confirmed he had a disagreement with the caucus.

Former state Rep. Diego Rodriguez, D-Phoenix, who has publicly criticized Shah on social media, said in an interview that Shah “was not trusted” by the rest of the Democratic caucus and would “pass information” to the Republicans. “He chose to go around us … and to work with the Republican majority to get his bills passed,” Rodriguez said.

Shah called Rodriguez's critique "illogical" in a follow-up statement to The Arizona Republic.

"In order to pass ANY of his or her bills, a member MUST work with the majority party," he wrote. "The alternative is to not legislate at all."

Pointing to his list of more than 20 endorsements, which includes several members of the party's House leadership, Shah argued "individual sentiments" aren't "reflective of the whole."

"Just like in any organization, not everyone will agree with a particular style of legislating and not everyone will get along well," he wrote.

State Rep. Deborah Nardozzi, D-Tempe, who has endorsed Shah and used to manage his campaign, defended Shah in a statement: "Criticizing Amish because he navigated the political realities to get bills passed is pretty disingenuous. ... The very reason anyone can even discuss his record is because he has one — that makes him unique in the CD1 primary race."

Shah earned some Democrats' ire for opposing a bill geared towards increasing access to birth control. His disagreement was a technical one, pointing to scientific literature showing the risks that a certain type of oral birth control posed to some patients.

“Our credo as physicians is primum no nocere — first do no harm — and this principle would apply here,” he wrote in a lengthy social media post explaining his vote.

An attack ad against Shah has labeled him “anti-choice.” He calls that allegation “false” and cites the vote as an example of when he stuck to his morals in spite of party pressures.

"You have to ask yourself: 'What is more important? The pressure or your conscience?'"

Does Shah’s willingness to break from his party make him unpredictable to voters?

“You're getting somebody who's predictably thinking critically," he said.

Health care, education, housing among Shah's priorities

The 1st Congressional District covers parts of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek and Fountain Hills in Maricopa County, along with Salt River and Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation tribal reservations.

Shah’s platform suggests he would lean more progressive on economic issues and taxation than Sinema. Shah criticized the Arizona senator’s effort to preserve a tax break for wealthy money managers. He said he would vote against renewing the Trump-era tax cuts in whole or in part and would support raising taxes on individuals who make more than $500,000.

He said “as a physician” he was enthusiastic about Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' focus on health care during Sanders’ presidential runs. Sanders, who is an independent, was running for the Democratic nomination.

Shah is running on "universal health care," saying he would be open to a single-payer or multi-payer model, and "fully funding Arizona’s public schools."

He's said he supports federal action to lower the cost of health care coverage and pharmaceuticals, universal prekindergarten and federal incentives that would increase the availability of affordable housing in Arizona.

Sinema is retiring from the U.S. Senate after a single contentious term.

Shah has been reelected easily twice since he first took office as a state legislator in 2019. He credits that to his campaign strategy of personally engaging with constituents and takes it as a mandate.

"I was reelected overwhelmingly. It wasn't close. That means the voters were happy with how I had done things," he said.

His opponents have mentioned that Shah voted in the 2016 Republican presidential preference election. In an interview, he again refused to directly say whether he voted for former President Donald Trump.

Shah reiterated his vote was a “strategic” decision to help elect Democrats ― though Trump went on to become president ― and argued the line of questioning is a misguided “purity test.”

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In a purple district, Shah is 'willing to compromise'

If his approach has miffed some Democrats, it’s earned him respect from some Republicans. State Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, described Shah as “focused” and “tenacious.” He said though they disagree ideologically on major issues, he and Shah have worked closely on “nonpartisan” topics such as animal welfare.

“The people comparing him to Kyrsten Sinema are dark-blue partisan Democrats who use that as a slur,” he said. “He’s not far-left like many of them are. He’s willing to compromise.

“Maybe that’s why he’s in trouble with some of the progressive Democrats: He does look at the whole issue, and when you do that, you don’t always come down on a hard, partisan side.”

Shah stepped down from the Legislature earlier this year to focus on his bid for Congress. Attorney Charles Lucking, D-Phoenix, was appointed to replace him.

The other candidates in the Democratic primary are former broadcast journalist Marlene Galán-Woods; financial executive Conor O’Callaghan; former Arizona Democratic Party Chair Andrei Cherny; orthodontist Andrew Horne; and former nonprofit executive Kurt Kroemer.

Republican Schweikert, who currently represents the district, was first elected in 2010.

Inside Elections rates the November race for Schweikert’s seat as “tilt Republican.” Sabato’s Crystal Ball and the Cook Political Report call it a toss-up.

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Laura Gersony covers national politics for The Arizona Republic. Contact her at [email protected] or 480-372-0389.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The next ‘Kyrsten Sinema’? Democrat Amish Shah looks for common ground