Amish Shah wins Democratic primary for CD1, will face ex-Cardinals kicker Jay Feely

PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — More than 24 hours after the primary polls closed Tuesday, a winner was declared in the contentious Democratic primary for a crucial U.S. House seat.

The Associated Press declared Amish Shah, a doctor and former state legislator, the projected winner in Congressional District 1 for the Democratic nomination over Marlene Galán-Woods, a former television journalist. It’s the second straight primary election Shah has won.

The Shah win is also another defeat for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which backed a rival, as more voters reject the preferences of party leaders in Washington.

Shah will face Republican Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker who was endorsed by President Donald Trump in his primary, in the fall. Before becoming political opponents, Feely and Shah were part of the same team — the New York Jets. Shah was a doctor on the sidelines, while Feely was the kicker.

Feely locks up GOP nomination

Feely easily won the Republican primary, securing the nomination with President Donald Trump’s endorsement and the backing of the National Republican Congressional Committee. The race was called minutes after the first batch of results were released.

“This is about family. It’s about friends and family. And it’s about doing what’s best for this country. And, you know, that’s why I decided to get into this race,” Feely said in a speech Tuesday night.

“There are things that are so important that you have to stand up for and you have to be willing to fight. And you have to be willing to sacrifice. And that’s what politics is supposed to be about,” he added.

Feely faced challenges from Joseph Chaplik, a former state lawmaker popular with grassroots activists, and technology and telecommunications executive John Trobough, for the party’s nomination.

Feely briefly ran to fill Rep. Andy Biggs’ seat in the 5th Congressional District. But Trump endorsed another candidate and nudged Feely to run in another district or for a different office. Feely switched to the race for the 1st District, and Trump endorsed him and former state party chair Gina Swoboda for the nomination. Swoboda later dropped out to run for secretary of state.

Feely has never been elected to public office.

He was in the NFL with seven teams over 14 seasons, including with the Arizona Cardinals from 2010 to 2013. He became an NFL broadcaster after retiring in 2014.

Feely and Shah overlapped on the Jets during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, when Shah worked home games as an airway management physician, according to his campaign. Every NFL game has an airway management doctor on the sideline to intubate and resuscitate a catastrophically injured player.

“It’s an old relationship,” Feely said of Shah on Tuesday night, before it was clear which Democrat he would face in November. “But whoever it is, I want to do this the right way. I want to run this the right way.”

The district has no incumbent on the ballot. Schweikert, who currently holds the seat, lost his bid to become the Republican nominee for governor.