Democrats in CD1 agree Trump is the problem, but differ on how to take him on

Both of the Democratic front-runners in a Phoenix-area congressional district that is among the most closely watched in the country this year put President Donald Trump center stage in a debate Tuesday, with each making their case to voters that they’d be the best choice to be the Democratic nominee in November.

The four-way Democratic primary election in Congressional District 1 is widely expected to come down to a contest between Amish Shah, an emergency room physician and former state legislator, and Marlene Galán-Woods, a former television news anchor.

The two faced off in 2024, with Shah besting Galán-Woods in the primary election by about 1,700 votes. (Galán-Woods finished in third place in the six-way race, trailing Andrei Cherny by about 200 votes.)

But Shah went on to lose in November to the Republican incumbent, David Schweikert, by nearly four percentage points.

This year, with Schweikert leaving the seat vacant to run for governor, national Democrats are hoping to capitalize and win a seat that has long been a top target. They see Galán-Woods as the best person to do that, and have endorsed her.

The former newscaster said she wants to win a seat in Congress to hold the Trump administration accountable.

“Let’s face it, we are facing the most corrupt presidency in our nation’s history,” Galán-Woods said.

Shah, likewise, made clear that he intends to be a strong bulwark against Trump.

“My biggest issue is the Trump administration is desecrating the constitution of the United States and I am going to hold him to account,” he said.

The pair was joined on the debate stage by businessmen Rick McCartney and Jonathan Treble.

Congressional District 1 is the country’s wealthiest district, spanning large swaths of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills and north and central Phoenix. It is also one of the state’s most competitive. The district leans red, but in recent years it has been a high priority for Democrats. The winner of the Democratic primary will face either retired football player Jay Feely or former state lawmaker Joseph Chaplik, the two GOP front-runners.

Opening statements

Each candidate was given one minute for an opening statement prior to taking questions from the debate moderators as a chance to pitch themselves to would-be voters watching.

McCartney, a long-time resident of CD1 and the president and CEO of InMedia Company, which publishes In Business Magazine, touted his credentials in the nonprofit world, which he said distinguishes him from his opponents.

“For nearly 16 years, we have been running the same playbook in this district,” McCartney said, adding that candidates have been using Washington, D.C., tactics to win in CD1 that come from a “losing playbook.”

Galán-Woods, the widow of former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, previously faced sharp criticism in 2024 because she was a Republican until 2018. She told the Arizona Republic that her values on key issues — including abortion and climate change — had always aligned with Democratic positions. The rise of Donald Trump prompted her to formally leave the party and become a Democrat, she said.

She used her opening statement to tout her background as a child of immigrants, which she said informs her approach to governing.

“I am the daughter of Cuban immigrants who came to this country with nothing,” Galán-Woods said. “I’m ready for congress because I want to make sure my parents’ American dream is attainable for everybody.”

Treble, the founder and CEO of a company that manages printers and coffee machines, also focused on Trump, saying that the country is “under attack” with a Republican-controlled Congress that is “failing to act.”

He also hit on healthcare, his campaign’s central issue, telling a story of how he fought to get life-saving treatment despite insurance denials. That experience, Treble said, ultimately led to his decision to run.

Shah touted his credentials as a long-time emergency room doctor who has worked at places like the Mayo Clinic. He also noted that he was the only person in the race to have served as an elected official.

“During my time there I was one of the most effective legislators,” Shah said of his time at the state Capitol.

He was a state lawmaker from 2019 until 2023. Although he represented a solidly blue central Phoenix district, Shah built a reputation for working across the aisle, sometimes to the chagrin of his fellow Democrats.

The debate

The debate itself touched on a variety of topics including affordability, immigration, healthcare and climate change.

On their top priorities if elected, the candidates had some varying ideas.

For Galán-Woods, taking control of the House so Democrats can rein in Trump’s tariffs is her top priority and the main way she said that affordability should be addressed. Addressing things like Affordable Care Act subsidies cut by Trump and Republicans also are of importance, but addressing tariffs should come first, she said. Shah, meanwhile, said that impeaching Trump for the litany of scandals and actions his administration has taken needs to be a priority for Democrats if they win a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“We have to have some moral clarity here. Right is right and wrong is wrong,” Shah said. “We are saying we are allowing someone to violate the supreme law of the land.”

McCartney said that undoing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the tax-cut and spending proposal that Trump and Republicans approved last year, is critical. Democrats need to “repeal this big ugly bill,” he said.

Treble said he was chiefly focused on addressing affordability, which he said has been made worse by both the One Big Beautiful Bill and Trump’s tariffs. He also advocated for implementing a single-payer healthcare system.

“Medicare-for-all will bring costs down tremendously for Arizona families,” he said.

When asked if there are any things they’d support cutting in government in order to help with spending or affordability, Galán-Woods brought up Elon Musk’s defunct nongovernmental Department of Government Efficiency which led to cuts that have devastated certain organizations meant to respond to crisis, leading to additional spending issues.

“We need to take a scalpel to different programs and not a chainsaw,” Galán-Woods said.

McCartney said that those who push for cuts are often trying to persuade people that the government does not work.

“It is time for us to think of things like healthcare instead of bombs,” McCartney said, noting that people should think less about taxing billionaires as well.

Shah suggested that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement needs to be curtailed, bringing up the shooting deaths of U.S. citizens in Minnesota by immigration agents.

“We do need to enforce the immigration laws, but this is not how we do it,” Shah said. ““Americans want an immigration system that is humane, that is orderly, that is fair and I’m sorry that is not what this administration is doing at all.”

Galán-Woods said that the issue hits close to home for her.

“I take this quite personally. My late husband and I adopted a baby from Guatemala,” Galán-Woods said, adding that she now carries her passport and identification with her at all times out of fear. “They would like to ship off people who have been here since they were five years old to a country that they do not know.”

Treble said Galán-Woods was a hypocrite and pointed out that her and her husband supported then-Gov. Jan Brewer after she signed SB1070, the state’s infamous “show me your papers” law, back in 2010.

“You helped start this problem we are in right now,” he said.

Woods shot back that she and her husband were some of “the most vocal folks” against the anti-immigrant law and called Treble’s comments a “cynical attack by a politician.”

McCartney was the only Democrat who called for defunding ICE.

“I think we absolutely need to rip up ICE,” McCartney said.

Congress needs to defund ICE and then “reform” its mission, he said. McCartney said he had spoken to families, attorneys and judges about the current immigration process and detention centers having inhumane conditions that led him to this view.

Early voting ahead of the July 21 primary begins June 24.