An Arizona Democrat with a radical voting record on transgender ideology is running for Congress — and his past votes are coming back to haunt him.
Amish Shah, a former emergency room doctor turned state lawmaker, consistently voted against protecting children from transgender surgeries and boys in girls’ sports during his time in the Arizona House. Now he’s running for Congress in a key Maricopa County district Republicans are fighting to hold.
Shah voted against a 2022 bill banning doctors from performing transgender surgeries on children. The law prohibited removing the breasts of girls who identify as boys and surgeries creating fake genitals for gender-confused kids.
Republican Governor Doug Ducey signed it into law in March 2022 over Democratic opposition.
“SOCIALIST AMISH SHAH SHOWED OFF HIS FAR-LEFT BELIEFS AS A STATE LEGISLATOR. SOCIALIST SHAH PROVED HE’S TOO EXTREME FOR ARIZONA AND VOTERS WILL REJECT HIS RADICAL, OUT OF TOUCH AGENDA.”
Shah also voted against bills keeping males out of female sports — twice — including a 2022 measure that became law. He opposed another proposal ensuring males cannot use female bathrooms at schools.
During his time in the legislature, Shah introduced a bill to ban so-called conversion therapy and make gender identity and sexual preference protected classes. Conversion therapy bans broadly prohibit counselors from helping gender-confused kids feel comfortable in their bodies.
Shah said at the time he hoped to “continue to be a great advocate for our state, our district, and the LGBT community.”
The scrutiny comes as Democrats nationwide have struggled on transgender issues after Republicans successfully campaigned on the topic during the 2024 presidential election. Some Democrats have faced angry backlash from leftist activists for moderating their positions, while others avoid the issue entirely.
Arizona voters will decide a ballot measure this cycle that would strengthen current law keeping males off female sports teams and ensure privacy for females in locker rooms and restrooms — at the same time Shah appears on the ballot.
His Republican opponent is Jay Feely, a former kicker for the Arizona Cardinals whose platform includes keeping men out of women’s sports. Both are running to replace outgoing Republican Rep. David Schweikert, who mounted an unsuccessful gubernatorial run. Schweikert won the district by four points in 2024, and Democrats are targeting it as a potential flip.
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ben Petersen told The Daily Wire that Shah’s record speaks for itself.
“Socialist Amish Shah showed off his far-Left beliefs as a state legislator,” Petersen said. “Socialist Shah proved he’s too extreme for Arizona and voters will reject his radical, out of touch agenda.”
Shah’s campaign platform doesn’t mention how he would vote on transgender issues in Congress, but it does highlight his support for abortion. His website boasts of his 100% pro-choice voting record and calls for Congress to pass a law guaranteeing the right to end the life of an unborn child.
Shah also champions government-run healthcare. He previously criticized America’s healthcare system for being “based on the free market,” saying “there’s a lot of things that are wrong with that.”
“No other industrialized country or first-world country offers health care through a free market because it’s not really a system,” he said in May 2019 at an event with the Phoenix Democratic Socialists of America and the Progressive Democrats of America.
To “take the problem and fix it, we need universal, single-payer Medicare for All throughout this country,” Shah added.
His campaign website describes him as a “proven champion for universal healthcare.”
The race is one of several key House contests that will determine whether Republicans maintain control of the chamber in 2026.
