Amish Shah Wins Arizona 1st Democratic Primary, Setting Up Race With Jay Feely

Q: How is a $600,000 AI industry investment shaping a former NFL kicker's congressional campaign?

The roughly $600,000 investment from the pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future has given Jay Feely’s campaign a major financial boost and tied his candidacy more closely to the fast-growing fight over artificial intelligence policy. For Feely, the money matters because it expands his ability to compete in an expensive Phoenix-area district that is expected to be closely contested in November. Combined with his broader fundraising and expected national Republican support, the AI-backed spending helps fund voter outreach, advertising and campaign organization, strengthening a candidate who was already running with high-profile backing from President Trump. The investment also signals why Feely has drawn attention beyond his football career and Trump ties. His platform includes AI regulation, and the outside support suggests parts of the tech industry see him as aligned with a lighter-touch, innovation-friendly approach. In that sense, the spending is not just financial support; it places Feely inside a larger national debate over how Congress should regulate AI. That said, the AI money is only one part of what is shaping his campaign. Feely’s primary message centered heavily on his relationship with Trump, his direct access to the President, border security and fiscal issues. But the super PAC’s backing gives him an additional power base and shows that industry groups now view even House races like Arizona’s 1st District as important battlegrounds for future AI policy.

3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Jul 23

Amish Shah secured Arizona's 1st Congressional District Democratic nomination, beating Marlene Galán-Woods and advancing to a general-election matchup with Republican Jay Feely.
Shah's win over the national party-backed Galán-Woods extends a string of defeats for Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee favorites after losses in Maine's 2nd and California's 22nd districts.
Arizona's 1st — covering Scottsdale and nearby areas — is one of the country's most competitive House races after eight-term Republican David Schweikert chose to run for governor instead.
The result also revisits the district's 2024 contest: Shah was the Democratic nominee then and lost to Schweikert by nearly 4 percentage points, while Galán-Woods finished third.