Former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely won the GOP primary in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District on Tuesday with 49.7% of the vote, leveraging President Donald Trump’s endorsement to defeat former state Rep. Joseph Chaplik and advance as the Republican nominee in one of the nation’s most competitive House races.
Feely, a professional football player turned broadcaster and occasional Trump golf partner, cruised to victory with Trump’s backing. During the primary, Feely emphasized his proximity to the president, saying in a debate: “Who can call [Trump] and who can get him to answer? That’s me. He will take my call and he will listen. I have the ability to have the ear of the president.”
Chaplik, a member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, attacked Feely for being insufficiently conservative on gun rights and for his humanitarian work in Haiti. But Trump’s endorsement proved decisive in the Republican primary, where the president’s picks have won at a historically high rate across the country.
The 1st District, which spans affluent suburbs north of Phoenix, is a battleground where Trump won by just three points in 2024. Democrats have identified the open seat as one of their top targets for flipping in November, according to Politico. Feely will face Democrat Amish Shah, a physician and former state lawmaker who led the Democratic primary.
Feely’s path to the primary reflected Trump’s outsized influence in Arizona Republican politics. He initially announced his candidacy for GOP Rep. Andy Biggs’ seat in the 5th District, but after Trump backed former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in that race, Feely switched to the 1st District, where he earned Trump’s dual endorsement alongside former state GOP chair Gina Swoboda. Swoboda later dropped her candidacy and ran for secretary of state instead.
As a member of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s MAGA Majority fundraising program, Feely is expected to receive substantial outside Republican spending in the months ahead. Trump-backed candidates swept Arizona’s Republican primaries on Tuesday, including U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, who won the GOP nomination for governor.
Sources
- Politico — Feely’s primary victory, vote share, district competitiveness, and Trump endorsement details
- The Washington Post — Trump’s endorsement and primary race overview
- USA Today — Trump-backed Arizona candidates winning primaries
- NPR — Trump-endorsed candidates winning Arizona nominations
- NBC News — Democratic primary results and Shah’s lead
- Arizona Mirror — Feely’s victory and November matchup with Shah
