Key Points

• 2 of 3 CD1 GOP candidates make pitches for Northeast Valley voters

• 2 Democrats also making a bid for the generally Republican district

• Former NFL player Jay Feely is the biggest fundraiser

Primary battles are starting to shape up in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District as both parties search for a nominee to replace U.S. Rep. David Schweikert. 

Republican candidates Jay Feely and John Trobough traded verbal barbs on May 5 in a “Conversation with Candidates” event hosted by Arizona PBS. According to the station, former state Rep. Joe Chaplik was scheduled to participate, but declined earlier in the day.

For both participating candidates, it was an opportunity to present themselves to the wide-ranging audience of the Northeast Valley district, a place where Republican voters have consistently chosen Schweikert for more than a decade. 

President Donald Trump has endorsed Feely, a former NFL kicker and CBS Sports football commentator. Trobough, a defense and technology business executive, entered the race having worked as a nonpartisan White House Presidential Innovation Fellow in both Trump’s first administration and former President Barack Obama’s administration. 

While Feely and Trobough held similar positions on several issues during their conversation, they did differ in their views on the Iran war. Feely supported Trump’s actions and said the world was in a better place because of the U.S. involvement, despite the increase in gas prices that have occurred since the war. 

“(Trump) took action that was in the best interest to protect our country, even though it wasn’t in his own best interest short term,” Feely said. 

Trobough instead appealed to the expertise of the White House, saying it acted with information that others, including himself, do not have on Iran. Even still, the former White House fellow said the timing of the war was unfortunate for Republicans who had just broadly campaigned on an “America First” platform.

“Right now, this is not sustainable for the globe or for this nation,” Trobough said. 

Feely also took shots at Chaplik for not attending the PBS event, calling him “No show Joe.” And, shortly after the event, his campaign began sponsoring the opposition website noshowjoechaplik.com that highlighted Chaplik as having the worst attendance among Republicans during his time as a state legislator. 

Chaplik responded to Feely’s attacks in a May 6 post on X where he explained he missed eight days of the legislative session last year after his mother died and said that he wasn’t interested in attending a debate with a “leftist moderator and a tiny left-wing audience.” 

“It was an unforced error for Chaplik not to show up,” said Matt Kenney, a Republican consultant who is working with Trobough’s campaign. “The majority of voters are undecided, so why would you miss an opportunity to share your message with the district?”

After CD1 voters chose both Trump and U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego in 2024, Kenny said the district’s voters might want a more independent thinker in office who answers to them rather than someone who answers to DC or a special interest group. He said Trobough’s defense and technology background will remain attractive for CD1 voters and business leaders as Chaplik and Feely battle it out over Trump’s base.

CD1 covers northeast Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek and Fountain Hills. It is a heavily targeted district for both Republicans and Democrats, and it will likely be one of the most competitive House races in the nation this campaign season.

Still, a Republican candidate will have to survive a primary election where middle-leaning voters typically don’t show up, said political consultant Chuck Coughlin. He added that the Trump endorsement could be enough on its own to carry Feely to a primary win.

“I don’t have any reason to believe the Trump endorsement isn’t a trump card in a Republican primary,” Coughlin said.

Feely has the largest war chest among Republican candidates with more than $1.2 million total cash on hand for his campaign, according to federal campaign finance data. Feely raised almost $750,000 during the last quarterly campaign finance period. Trobough had just under $400,000 in the bank while Chaplik had over $265,000 in available campaign funds. 

Contenders for the Democratic primary nomination are also starting to form after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced it was backing former broadcast journalist Marlene Galán-Woods. 

The DCCC added Galán-Woods to its “Red to Blue” program, which the committee describes as a highly competitive program that arms “top tier” candidates with organizational and fundraising support. 

Galán-Woods and former state Rep. Amish Shah are both rerunning in this year’s primary after Shah’s CD1 Democratic primary win in 2024. Shah emerged out of a six-candidate race but lost to Schweikert. Galán-Woods finished third in the previous primary and lost to Shah by just more than 2% of votes. 

“Arizonans already know Marlene Galán-Woods as a trusted voice who spent 20 years in broadcast journalism speaking truth to power, telling their stories, and advocating for hardworking people. She is the common-sense fighter Arizonans deserve to cut through the noise, push back against extremists, and get things done,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement.

According to April quarterly campaign finance reports, Galán-Woods outraised her Democratic opponents in the recent quarter with $438,000 in the period. Democrat Jonathan Treble, the founder of the smart amenities company WithMe, raised just over $400,000 during the quarter while Shah fundraised nearly $250,000. Treble has the most cash on hand of all candidates with $1.6 million. 

“Elites in Washington should not be meddling in this race,” Shah said in a statement. “This election will be decided by Arizona voters, not by establishment insiders in back rooms. Right now, Arizonans want new leaders with the courage to fight back against Trump and MAGA Republicans’ lawlessness and stop their assault on our democracy and healthcare.”

Coughlin’s consulting firm HighGround Public Affairs Consultants in February polled Shah to be leading Galán-Woods by more than 20%, although about half of respondents said they were still undecided.

“It just shows you how institutional the party is. They’re not watching what’s going on locally. Coughlin said of the DCCC’s endorsement. “Marlene is a fairly prolific fundraiser and she’s an attractive candidate. I just don’t happen to think she’s going to win.”