Democrats have been trying and failing for more than a decade to win House seats in battleground districts around Scottsdale, Arizona, but winning evenly tied open seats is essential in midterm elections, where gerrymandering has dramatically narrowed the playing field.
But preparations for Tuesday's Democratic primary have been marred by infighting, about $3 million in spending from outside groups and scathing accusations of interference by the National Party in Washington. There is a good chance that whoever wins this week will go bankrupt and be devastated.
“It's accelerating from chaos to circus,” said Stacey Pearson, a longtime Democratic consultant and resident of the district.
The stakes are high for Democrats in their bid to take over the House. Arizona's 1st Congressional District is one of about a dozen pure toss-up seats held by Republicans. The National Party is backing Marlene Galan Woods, a Republican-turned-Democrat with a deep political pedigree, against the 2024 Democratic candidate Amish Shah, a violent door-knocking doctor.
This division is biographical rather than ideological. Ms. Galan Woods is a former broadcast journalist and the widow of Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, who famously antagonized the party over President Trump. Groups loving her story have poured millions of dollars into attack ads and emails against Dr. Shah, an emergency physician and former state representative, but Democrats in Washington note that she received fewer votes in the district than Kamala Harris in 2024.
Former NFL kicker Jay Feeley, backed by Trump, is the clear frontrunner in the district's Republican primary, but he will have to withstand a challenge from former state Rep. Joseph Czaplik, running to his right.
Pearson, the Democratic consultant, said the “bloody” Democratic primary was one of the most negative she can remember.
Democratic voters have been here before. Two years ago, Dr. Shah and Ms. Galan-Woods also met in the House primary. Galan Woods took third place. Now, the official campaign arm of the House Democrats has stepped in to back Mr. Galan-Woods after rallying behind Dr. Shah in the 2024 general election.
In recent weeks, multiple political action committees have supported Mr. Galan-Woods, spending more than $2.5 million on digital and TV ads and emails attacking Dr. Shah. Another PAC supporting Jonathan Treble, a more progressive candidate in the race, also spent nearly $300,000 against Dr. Shah.
One anti-Shamail included a black-and-white image of Dr. Shah posing with Hillary, a black cat named after Hillary Clinton. The flyer read, “Donald Trump and MAGA are Amish Shah's top cats,” and Dr. Shah said Hillary rubbed “Democrat” off the scarf she was wearing around her neck.
“It looks almost pale,” Dr. Shah said.
Dr. Shah responded by distancing himself from the party establishment, calling their approach “toxic.” He said he doesn't know what his relationship with the national Democratic Party will be if he wins. “I think we’re in uncharted territory,” he said.
Some voters are repulsed by the negative tone.
“I want to know who's doing those ads, so I'm going to vote against it,” Scottsdale resident Brian Nicholson said of the negative ads, adding that he voted for Trump three times but is now an independent.
Leo Croft, a Democratic voter from Arcadia, Arizona, said he and his wife play a game where they spot negative signs they pass on the street.
“They’re all nonsense,” he said.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has announced that it will support whoever advances to the general election.
“Amish Shah has proven he can lose,” Galan Woods said. She has questioned her opponent's credibility in the past on core Democratic issues. “And we cannot afford any more losses.”
Mr Galan-Woods, who considers himself more moderate, signed a pledge condemning the left wing of the party.
But the former Republican's critics have questioned her credentials as a Democrat, and outside groups have spent nearly $300,000 on her campaign.
That share was contested in the Republican primary between Mr. Feeley and Mr. Chaplyk, a former member of the far-right Freedom Caucus group in the state Legislature who represents a district with overlapping seats.
The two sent cease and desist letters and created a duel attack website. Mr. Chaplyk filed a defamation suit against a conservative PAC, which spent $60,000 against him.
Mr. Feeley labeled Mr. Chaplyk a “no-show Joe” and accused him of poor attendance in Congress. Mr. Chaplyk pushed back, calling Mr. Feeley, a Democrat and a carpetbagger who originally ran in another Arizona congressional district, to be tapped by Mr. Trump to move to the Scottsdale seat.
“Despite the defamatory lies and desperate vote-hunting of our out-of-district opponents, we are winning this election,” Chaplyk said.
Feeley also said Chaplyk made racist comments on social media when he attacked two Haitian immigrants the former kicker brought in with his family.
“I think he’s a guy who knows he can’t win,” Feeley said.
