The former Cardinals player says he’s pivoting his congressional campaign to another Arizona district.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely announced Friday he will no longer seek to represent the East Valley in Congress. He will instead seek to represent another region of Arizona in Washington D.C.

Feely announced earlier this year he planned to seek the Republican nomination in the primary for Arizona’s 5th Congressional District. Congressman Andy Biggs currently represents that district and won’t be seeking re-election in 2026 to make a run for governor.

CD5 is considered a safe seat for Republicans and Feely wasn’t the only Republican looking to fill the open seat. Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb had filed a statement of interest to run in the CD5 primary a couple of months ago.

On Dec. 19, Feely released a statement announcing his intention to instead seek his party’s nomination for another open congressional seat. 

“I have decided to pivot my campaign for Congress to Arizona’s 1st Congressional District,” Feely wrote in his statement.

CD1 already has multiple Republicans considering runs for the GOP nomination in 2026 after Congressman David Schweikert decided to run for governor. State lawmaker Joseph Chaplik, Arizona GOP Party Chair Gina Swoboda and others have already filed statements of interest to potentially run in the CD1 primary.

CD1 encompasses the regions of Scottsdale and Fountain Hills. Republicans currently have an advantage over Democrats in the party’s number of registered voters in CD1. But the district has over 180,000 non-affiliated voters who could sway the election’s outcome.

Schweikert successfully held onto the CD1 seat in 2024 after he defeated Democrat Amish Shah by over 16,000 votes.

Official statement from Jay Feely: pic.twitter.com/wKj4Hde9bu

— Jay Feely (@jayfeely) December 19, 2025