Amish Shah lost his congressional bid against Republican incumbent David Schweikert in Arizona’s First Congressional District, a result that leaves the Democrat free to permanently return to his country club estate located one district over alongside his cat, Miss Meowerson.
Shah trailed Schweikert by roughly 4 points when ABC's Phoenix affiliate declared Schweikert the winner. The result is crushing for Shah, though it is perhaps good news for Miss Meowerson.
Shah featured the cat in a fundraising email and virtual campaign event, both of which showed Shah and Miss Meowerson in a spacious kitchen with groceries on the counter. The email, purportedly written by Miss Meowerson, said the cat spends her time at the home "waiting for my dad to come back from door-knocking so he can give me treats."
But that home, the Washington Free Beacon reported, is not in Arizona’s first district, where Shah ran unsuccessfully for Congress. It’s in Arizona’s nearby third district, held (for now) by Democratic congressman turned Senate nominee Ruben Gallego. It’s also in Phoenix's "historic" Country Club Manor neighborhood, worth roughly $2 million and complete with "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 one real estate listing.
Shah responded to the Free Beacon’s report by claiming that the home was not his "official residence." Shah, however, has declared the home his primary residence on government forms, receiving a property tax credit that can only be applied to a home the owner actively lives in, documents show.
Shah also repeatedly voted from the home's address—until last year, when he changed his voter registration to reflect the address of a first district condo he began renting with his girlfriend. The move allowed Shah to cast a ballot for himself in his crowded July primary, though it may have been illegal given that Shah did not appear to move to the condo, one attorney said.
Even in the wake of that revelation, Shah did little to distance himself from his country club manor. Just days before the election, he hosted a "spooktacular" Halloween party for his Country Club Manor neighbors, complete with lemonade, a craft table, and sweet and savory snacks, the Free Beacon reported. An invitation for the party said it would allow neighbors to "reconnect."
Before his congressional run, Shah served in the state legislature. He also worked as a Mayo Clinic physician, a job he said was, unlike his home, "in the heart of our district."
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