In a bid to capture more voters, Arizona congressional candidate Amish Shah is telling the 1st Congressional District to beware his opponent for supporting data centers, while supporting them himself.
Shah, the Democratic nominee, has also avoided mention of his past work on behalf of data centers.
While in the state legislature, Shah worked to ensure significant tax breaks that have attracted a mass influx of data centers. The state has more than 100 data centers currently in operation, and around 60 more centers in the planning or construction phases of development.
Shah has avoided addressing the data center boom resulting from his lawmaker days. And while his current campaign rhetoric indicates an opposition to data centers in the state, he has also indicated an openness to data center development in Arizona so long as it’s outside the 1st Congressional District.
In the final month leading up to Election Day, Shah has condemned his Republican opponent, Jay Feely, for supporting data centers. Feely has been up front about his support for data center development in Arizona, with the caveat that these centers pay for their own power and rely on reclaimed water within closed-loop systems.
One TV attack ad from Shah that implied that he opposes data centers because they drain Arizona’s critically low water supply.
On social media, Shah said any candidate supporting “more data centers in the desert” should be a disqualifier.
Arizona is 30 years into a drought and bracing for deeper Colorado River cuts.
Jay Feely’s plan? More data centers in the desert.
It’s disqualifying.https://t.co/N27MjDsVxg
— Amish Shah, MD (@DrAmishShah) September 30, 2026
Despite what voters might infer from these attack ads and social media posts, Shah currently only opposes data center construction in the 1st Congressional District — not a statewide ban.
Eve Zhurbinskiy, Shah’s campaign manager, recently told The Copper Courier that the burden of data centers should fall on those outside the 1st Congressional District.
“[Shah] opposes building data centers in Arizona’s First Congressional District,” stated the Shah campaign. “Arizona families already face high utility costs and drastic water shortages. While [Shah] believes we need to develop the technology to stay globally competitive, we shouldn’t be building data centers in the middle of the desert.”
In a follow-up statement, Shah said data centers present a threat to Arizona water.
“We are here in the desert, running out of water,” stated Shah. “You’re not going to put a bunch of data centers here to chew up more of our water, which is just going to hit people in the pocketbook.”
Throughout these interviews, Shah has avoided mention of his voting record as a state lawmaker that ushered in an era of mass data center expansion for Arizona.
Legislative records reflect that Shah voted twice to expand corporate tax relief for data centers through House Bill 2649 in 2021. The bill extended tax exemptions to data centers retroactive to 2013 and lasting through 2033 at the behest of data center lobbyists.
17 Democrats voted against the initial version of the legislation, and 10 Democrats voted against the Senate-approved version of the legislation.
Then, in 2023, Shah voted for Senate Bill 1274, a follow-up to the 2021 bill that eliminated the restrictions on certain tax refunds for data centers.
The tax exemption was successful in attracting data center developers to the state. Last year, Phoenix was ranked second in the nation for data center development.
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