NFL Star to Tackle His Former Doctor in Bonkers Election Match-Up

A former NFL kicker-turned-MAGA candidate will take on his former team doctor in a pivotal congressional race.

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Jay Feely, a former New York Jet whom President Donald Trump endorsed as the GOP candidate for Arizona’s first congressional district, will match up against his former team physician, Amish Shah, as his Democratic adversary.

“I’m asking you to go out and vote for Jay Feely, a friend of mine and a great athlete to represent Arizona’s first congressional district,” Trump, 80, said in an endorsement video earlier this month. “Jay is a true America First conservative and a natural-born leader.”

Following his career in the NFL, during which he played for seven different teams, Feely, 50, ventured into sports broadcasting before eventually dipping his toes into politics.

“I also have to thank President Trump. He and I have been friends for two decades,” Feely said at his victory party on Tuesday, according to People. “We know how important it is to stand up for him and the policies that he’s trying to impact our country with.”

The former Arizona Cardinal kicker said that the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024 is what inspired him to run for Congress.

“The lawfare that Democrats did against President Trump and you watched him get shot,” Feely told Fox News in April 2025. “That was a big moment for me. I remember starting to really think about running for office the day that he got shot.”

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Shah, an emergency doctor and former state representative, claimed victory on Wednesday over House Democrats-backed candidate Marlene Galán-Woods in the Democratic primary.

“I hope that I can get their endorsement over Jay Feely,” he joked on Tuesday, according to The New York Times.

Shah, 48, worked as the Jets’ physician from 2008 to 2013, according to The Washington Post, which included Feely’s short stint on the team in the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

He also led the franchise’s Airway Management Team, according to his official state legislature biography.

The two are battling it out for the seat of Rep. David Schweikert, who was trounced by his Republican colleague Rep. Andy Biggs in an unsuccessful campaign for governor in the GOP primary.