Jay Feely won the Republican primary for Arizona’s 1st District in July 2026, defeating Joseph Chaplik and John Trobough, and is set to face Democrat Amish Shah on November 3. But the road to this point hasn’t gone as expected.
“🚨🚨THIS IS WILD🚨🚨 Former #NFL kicker Jay Feely is running for Congress in Arizona against Dr. Amish Shah — who worked as a New York #Jets sideline physician while Feely was the team’s kicker,” ML Football on X. “Now, Feely’s missed kicks are being used in commercials during the congressional race.”
The video was shared by House Majority PAC’s Comms Director, CJ Warnke. It goes on to talk about how Feely has been an adamant supporter of Trump’s policies, but takes a dig at him by showing one of his three crucial missed kicks from the New York Giants-Seattle Seahawks matchup in 2005.
“When the pressure is on to fight for you, Jay Feely is not the guy,” the video says.
This wasn’t the first time he was mocked. Jay Feely’s campaign for Congress took an unexpected turn in May 2026 when his Republican primary race in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District started focusing on his past work in Haiti. Former state Rep. Joseph Chaplik, who was also running in the Republican primary, also used his missed field goals as a jab.
“I’ve made life better for every citizen in CD1… Jay Feely has only missed field goals to the left.” Chaplik wrote on X.
Feely attempted 402 attempts scoring field goals, but could land only 332 of them. He made those numbers playing for six teams in his 14 year career. One of those missed attempts might have cost him his job at Arizona in 2014.
The former kicker missed a 48-yard field goal against the Cincinnati Bengals in a preseason game. The Cardinals went for rookie Chandler Cantanzaro at the time after Feely’s departure.
The former kicker wasted no time in exploring other career opportunities after his final season. He joined CBS Sports Network as a color analyst in 2015 and spent 10 years as a broadcaster. Then came his turn toward politics.
In April 2025, Jay Feely announced that he would run for U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona’s fifth congressional district in the 2026 election.
“I’m excited about this next chapter of my life,” Feely told ESPN. “I think that I feel God’s calling pressing me into service, and that’s really what I believe it is, is the civil service. I don’t believe we have enough politicians that get into political office not for self-serving measures and that get into political office and don’t want it to be a career, and that’s what I believe.”
But in December 2025, Feely changed his plans and decided to run in the 1st District in Scottsdale after President Donald Trump asked him to switch. The decision seemed to work out for the better, as Feely won the election.
Jay Feely’s life beyond politics
Feely and his wife, Rebecca, had been involved in charity work for years. They helped raise private funds for House of Refuge in Mesa, a nonprofit with homes for single mothers who were homeless. They also regularly volunteered at Hacienda Healthcare in Phoenix, which helped children and young adults with serious health and developmental needs.
“Everything that my wife and I have tried to do is to utilize the blessings that we’ve been given,” Feely told Cronkite News. “First through football, then broadcasting to impact other people’s lives. Of course, that’s what politics is supposed to be about. You’re supposed to be sacrificial.”
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Feely and his wife traveled there to help rebuild homes and run a food program that served around 100,000 people a day. While there, they met two young men and later helped them with the immigration process so they could get visas and come to the U.S. to attend college.
The 1st District is Arizona’s wealthiest and one of most competitive districts, the Arizona Mirror noted. It was a risky move for Feely to battle Amish Shah as a first-time politician, but his work seems to have paid off.
Whether a reminder of those missed field goals is enough to impact voters, however, will only be seen later.