Former NFL kicker and broadcaster Jay Feely is sharpening his attacks against rival John Trobough as the two Republicans battle in Arizona’s closely watched 1st Congressional District primary, casting the race as a choice between an outsider conservative and a former Obama administration official reinventing himself for GOP voters.
Feely, who entered the race earlier this year with backing from President Donald Trump, criticized Trobough over his past service as a presidential innovation fellow, a nonpartisan technology program launched during former President Barack Obama’s administration.
“He was in the Obama administration and called himself an Obama baby,” Feely said in recent remarks.
“But now he wants to present himself as a Reagan conservative.”
Feely also mocked Trobough’s social media profiles, saying the technology executive still lists “he/him” pronouns in his biography, which Feely argued does not align with Republican primary voters in the district.
“I don’t think that resonates with Republicans here in the district,” Feely said.
Arizona’s 1st Congressional District is expected to be one of the nation’s top battlegrounds in the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans view the seat as critical to preserving their narrow House majority.
Feely framed his candidacy as part of a broader push for outsiders in Washington, arguing voters are frustrated with career politicians.
“The voters in Arizona, and really around the country, they want more people who are not politicians who aren’t going there to enrich themselves,” Feely said.
“We have all these politicians that stay in office 20, 30 years that grow their net worth from nothing to 30, 40, 50 million.”
The former Arizona Cardinals kicker also highlighted his decade-long broadcasting career, saying it prepared him to communicate conservative ideas effectively.
“You have to understand the issues, and you have to be willing to stand up and fight,” Feely said. “That’s what President Trump does continually for the American people.”
Feely said Trump personally encouraged him to enter the race because of the district’s importance nationally.
“It’s a swing seat in a swing district,” he said. “We got to make sure we keep it Republican. It’s one of the three most important seats in the country.”
Feely added that he walked away from a successful broadcasting career in order to run.
“I decided to leave broadcasting, give up my great job in broadcasting to run, to make sure that we keep this seat a Republican seat,” he said.
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