Former New York Jets kicker Jay Feely and former team doctor Amish Shah will face each other in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District after both won their 2026 primaries this week.
Feely, backed by Donald Trump, won the Republican primary on July 21, while Shah won the Democratic primary Wednesday in the Phoenix-area House race.
Their matchup brings an unusual twist to November 3, 2026, because Feely played for the Jets in 2008 and 2009 while Shah worked home games on the sideline as an airway management physician. The contest now moves from NFL sidelines to a key swing district that both parties are watching closely.
Highlights
- Jay Feely won the Republican primary in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District with about 50% of the vote.
- Amish Shah won the Democratic primary despite the DCCC backing a rival.
- Feely and Shah overlapped with the New York Jets during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
- Shah worked Jets home games as an airway management physician.
- The general election is set for November 3, 2026.
The shared Jets connection surfaced quickly
Image credits: Getty Images
Feely defeated former state Rep. Joe Chaplik and businessman John Trobough in the Republican primary, taking about 50% of the vote to Chaplik's roughly 36% and Trobough's roughly 15%. Shah, a former state lawmaker and physician, won the Democratic primary the next day in a closely watched contest.
The shared Jets connection surfaced quickly after Feely’s win. Speaking Tuesday night, Feely said Shah might become his general-election opponent and pointed to their overlap in New York.
Shah’s campaign said he worked Jets home games as an airway management physician during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, when Feely kicked for the team. At every NFL game, an airway management doctor stands on the sideline to intubate and resuscitate a catastrophically injured player.
Image credits: GMO66. Cropped by User:Blueag9. / Wikimedia Commons
Feely’s path to the race also involved Trump. The president initially endorsed another candidate for the 5th District, which pushed Feely toward the 1st District race, where Trump later endorsed him and former state party chair Gina Swoboda. Swoboda later dropped out to run for secretary of state.
Feely praised Trump’s support after his primary win.
Arizona primaries sent a sharp message to both national parties this week
Image credits: Amish Shah
Feely’s closest rival, Joe Chaplik, was running as a strongly pro-Trump candidate, so the primary wasn’t really decided by policy differences between them. With little daylight separating the two on substance, Trump’s personal endorsement ended up being the deciding factor.
Shah’s win also carried a message inside Democratic politics. He won despite the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee backing a rival in the primary, making the result another setback for the national campaign arm in this district.
One Shah campaign volunteer, Maria Liong, put the frustration bluntly in comments reported by Fortune.
Image credits: Amish Shah
Feely, meanwhile, entered the general election with financial support that reached well beyond Arizona politics. Federal Election Commission filings reviewed by the Phoenix New Times showed he raised more than $1 million through the end of 2025, including more than $204,000 from figures across the sports world. The list included Roger Goodell, Jim Nantz, Charles Barkley, and several NFL owners.
The matchup has already drawn sharp reactions online. In a reply to The Washington Post’s X post about the race, one commenter wrote: “One is an actual doctor, the other kicked a ball very far. I wonder which is more qualified for elected office?”
Voters in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District will make the decision on November 3, 2026. For now, the race stands out for something rare in congressional politics: two candidates who once shared an NFL sideline now asking the same district for a seat in Washington.