Arizona Democrat Amish Shah
In late September, Democrat Amish Shah joined a Zoom call with supporters of his campaign for Arizona's First Congressional District. He addressed them from his sizable kitchen. Groceries sat on the counter behind him, and he discussed his work practicing medicine "in the heart of our district."
A week later, Shah, a physician and former state legislator, sent a fundraising email from his cat, Miss Meowerson. It included a photo of Shah and Miss Meowerson in the same kitchen.
"When I'm not hard at work running dad's campaign," Miss Meowerson was quoted as saying, "I can be found … waiting for my dad to come back from door-knocking so he can give me treats."
Shah's kitchen—and his cat—would not typically be pertinent to his campaign against Republican incumbent David Schweikert. But the image of Shah returning to that kitchen to greet Miss Meowerson after a day on the campaign trail is troublesome, if not illegal.
That's because Shah's home is not located in the district he is running to represent but rather in Arizona's nearby third district. Shah is saving money on property taxes by declaring the home as his primary residence, according to records obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. He is also voting from a rented condominium in the first district he is running to represent, records show. Shah changed his voter registration last year to reflect the condo address, according to his voter file, allowing him to cast a ballot for himself in the crowded July primary.
While Shah is not required to reside in the first district to represent it, it's considered bad politics for congressional candidates to live outside their districts.
At the same, Shah's living arrangement may be more than simply a political problem. If he does in fact permanently reside outside the first district—as his property tax records and campaign photos indicate—Arizona law would bar him from using a rented condo to vote in the district.
"It is illegal to register to vote in a precinct where you don't actually live and intend to live indefinitely," former U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona Michael Bailey told the Washington Free Beacon.
Shah, in a statement sent to the Free Beacon, conceded he owns "a property just outside the district."
"But in October 2023"—the same month Shah changed his voter registration—"I signed a lease on an apartment with my girlfriend in the district," he said. "This is my official residence. I also happen to work as an emergency physician at the Mayo Clinic where I personally treat people in the heart of our district." Shah's campaign did not answer detailed questions about his property taxes and about the photos showing him working from and living in his "property just outside the district."
Shah bought that home for nearly $1 million in 2016, property records show. Located in a "highly coveted" country club and now worth roughly $2 million, the home "flows very nicely w/ gracious living spaces including a large formal dining room, an eat-in kitchen and both a formal living room and separate family room," according to a real estate listing, which shows photos of the same kitchen from which Shah has campaigned.
(Redfin real estate listing)Shah listed the home's address on his federal statement of candidacy in April 2023. Congress's online "Find Your Representative" tool states that the address "is located in the 3rd Congressional district of Arizona," represented (for now) by Democratic congressman Rubén Gallego, who is running for Senate.
Shah did not use the address in public records for long. By July 2023, federal campaign finance disclosures show, he began listing the address to a condo located roughly three miles north of his home. That condo—which is owned by a local real estate company, according to property records—is located within the first district, which Shah is running to represent.
Shah went on to change his voter registration to reflect the condo address in October 2023. Before then, he was registered to vote at his home address in Arizona's third district, records obtained by the Free Beacon show. The change allowed Shah to vote in his own July primary, which he won by just 2 points.
In the months following that primary, however, Shah does not appear to have moved to his new address. During a Sept. 24 Zoom event with liberal group Swing Left, he addressed supporters from the kitchen of his country club home, a video recording obtained by the Free Beacon shows. Shah nonetheless touted himself as an "emergency physician" who works "in the heart of our district." At one point during the meeting, Miss Meowerson appeared in the background. Shah's fundraising email, sent on Oct. 3, also shows the pair posted up in the same kitchen.
(Zoom call from kitchen with cat in bottom right corner)There are other signs that Shah still lives in his third district home. His property tax assessment for 2024 lists a $600 "State Aid to Education" tax credit, which can only be applied to a home that the owner actively lives in. The first half of Shah's 2024 property taxes was due on Oct. 1; the second half is due in March.
Shah also appears to drive a white Tesla, as shown through various photos Shah posted to Facebook. Photos taken of Shah's home throughout September and obtained by the Free Beacon show a white Tesla parked in the driveway. They also show a Shah campaign yard sign posted on the curb.
(Amish Shah Facebook)
While Shah's third district home is much more luxurious than his first district condo, the latter boasts plenty of amenities.
Located in a "highly desirable" area "just minutes from some of Phoenix's best shopping," the "HUGE den condo" features granite countertops, a natural gas fireplace, a built-in sound system, a balcony, and a two-car garage, according to a real estate listing, which lists the estimated monthly rent at $3,100.
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