Tuesday’s primary election in Arizona provided President Donald Trump with another opportunity to demonstrate the power of his endorsements as his chosen candidates secured decisive victories across multiple races. Meanwhile, a socialist movement within the Democratic Party encountered significant setbacks in the Grand Canyon State.
Trump-backed Republicans, including former NFL kicker Jay Feely, emerged victorious Tuesday in Arizona’s primary elections, while a Democratic socialist candidate suffered a crushing defeat in a key congressional race. Feely, who played for six teams—including the Jets and Giants—during his 14-season professional football career, defeated former state lawmaker Joseph Chaplik in the Grand Canyon State’s 1st Congressional District. This district, covering northeastern Maricopa County and recognized as Arizona’s wealthiest congressional district, is currently being vacated by Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), who opted to run for governor.
Democrats have long targeted this district as a critical opportunity to regain control of the House majority after four years outside the chamber. Feely, a former CBS football analyst endorsed by Trump in January, emphasized his direct connection with the president during campaign events: “Who can call [Trump] and who can get him to answer? That’s me,” he stated during a primary debate last month. “He will take my call and he will listen. I have the ability to have the ear of the president.”
In another race, incumbent Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) swept Democratic socialist primary challenger Kai Newkirk by a margin of 30 percentage points in Arizona’s 4th District, which includes Phoenix suburbs such as Tempe and Mesa. Newkirk accused Stanton of being overly supportive of Israel and corporations and criticized his vote in favor of the Laken Riley Act, which mandates that illegal immigrants arrested, charged, or convicted of “burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting” be held by immigration authorities.
