Democrats got their first major candidate to take on Republican Rep. David Schweikert in Arizona’s competitive 1st Congressional District on Monday when state Rep. Amish Shah announced that he’d run. Shah, a physician whose 2018 victory made him the legislature’s first Indian American member, will try to flip a seat in northeastern Phoenix and Scottsdale that Joe Biden carried 50-49 in 2020 and that favored the state’s two most prominent Democrats last year: According to Bloomberg’s Greg Giroux, Sen. Mark Kelly and Gov. Katie Hobbs prevailed 52-46 and 52-48 here, respectively.
Shah kicked off his bid for what will likely be a key contest for control of the House days after 2022 nominee Jevin Hodge, who lost to Schweikert 50.4-49.6 last time, revealed that he would not seek a rematch. The state representative may not have the primary to himself, though, as former TV anchor Marlene Galan Woods, a self-described moderate, said in mid-January she was giving herself 90 days to decide.
Inside Elections last month also mentioned two other Democrats who lost campaigns under the previous map: Hiral Tipirneni, who failed to unseat Schweikert 52-48 in the old 6th District, and Andrei Cherny, who lost his 2012 primary to none other than Kyrsten Sinema in what was then the 9th District. There is no word, however, if either Tipirneni or Cherny are interested in another bid for Congress.
Schweikert himself has proven to be a very tough opponent despite a potentially career-ending scandal in 2020. That year the incumbent admitted to 11 different violations of congressional rules and campaign finance laws, agreed to pay a $50,000 fine, and accepted a formal reprimand in a deal with the bipartisan House Ethics Committee to conclude its two-year-long investigation of the congressman. However, none of that was enough to stop him from prevailing over Tipirneni as Trump was also carrying the old 6th District.
Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission the following cycle left Schweikert with a more Democratic seat, now christened the 1st District, and he had to overcome serious opposition in both the primary and general elections from opponents who hoped his old scandal would still sink him. Wealthy businessman Elijah Norton aired ads against his fellow Republican featuring Schweikert's former campaign treasurer telling the audience the incumbent "reported a fraudulent $100,000 loan, $279,000 in illegal contributions, and more than $500,000 missing. Then he blamed his staff."
Schweikert responded by circulating mailers showing the challenger and a male friend with the caption, "Elijah Norton isn't being straight with you." An angry Norton filed a lawsuit against the congressman over what he called a "homophobic" messaging that falsely implied the challenger is gay and noted that Schweikert had utilized a similar tactic in his successful 2012 primary against fellow Rep. Ben Quayle, an effort that included a mailer saying Quayle "goes both ways." Schweikert this time won renomination 44-33 after an underfunded third candidate took a crucial 23%, while Norton submitted a new defamation lawsuit in February.
Major outside groups from both parties initially acted like Schweikert was secure despite that ugly finish, but both Democrats and Republicans super PACs began spending here during the final two weeks of his general election against Hodge. The Democratic group House Majority PAC ultimately outspent its GOP counterpart, the Congressional Leadership Fund, $1.7 million to $910,000, and the late investment was almost enough to help Hodge pull off an upset. Schweikert ultimately edged out his foe by about 3,200 votes, but Democrats are hoping that his luck will finally come to an end in 2024.
State supreme court races are a favorite topic of ours, and there are literally dozens more on the ballot in 2024, so we're previewing the top battles with Carah Ong Whaley of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast. Carah tells us how and why so much money has come to be spent on supreme court elections in recent decades before diving into next year's key contests, including several states where control is on the line, like Ohio, Michigan, and Montana. With the stakes high for redistricting reform, abortion rights, and democracy, progressives everywhere will want to stay up-to-date on all of these races.
