The Republican Party has secured a Trump-backed nominee in a competitive open-seat race for Arizona's 1st Congressional District, following Tuesday's primary election.
Former NFL kicker Jay Feely won the GOP contest, defeating former state lawmaker Joseph Chaplik and businessman John Trobough in the primary to replace Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., who is running for governor but lost in his primary Tuesday night.
Arizona's 1st Congressional District is a Phoenix-area battleground that both parties see as competitive heading into November, with the district including northeastern Maricopa County and large parts of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Fountain Hills.
President Donald Trump endorsed Feely in a video message days before the primary, calling him a "true America First conservative" and urging voters to support him in the July 21 election.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) also placed Feely in its "MAGA Majority" program, which aims to support America First candidates in battleground districts.
The GOP primary became increasingly personal in its final weeks, with Chaplik accusing Feely of having "imported Haitians" in a tweet, a remark Feely described as racist and directed at Haitian men he considers family.
Feely has spent years doing nonprofit relief work in Haiti after a devastating 2010 earthquake, and has defended his work as humanitarian, not political, saying he helped two young Haitian men come to the U.S. as translators and considers them members of his family.
Feely will advance to a general election in one of the most closely watched House races in the country, as Republicans try to hold Schweikert's seat and Democrats look to capitalize on an open race in a district that has remained competitive in recent cycles.
The Democrat candidates for Arizona's 1st Congressional District include former state lawmaker Amish Shah and former television news anchor Marlene Galán-Woods, the two leading Democrats in the race, along with Rick McCartney and Jonathan Treble.
