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Audio By Carbonatix
Call it a chip shot.
When it comes to politicians cosplaying in military garb, Sen. Ruben Gallego loves calling out a fraud. Earlier this year, he lambasted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for a photo she posted holding a semi-automatic rifle while “participating” in an immigration raid. Now Gallego has trained his social media fire on former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely.
Feely is running as Republican for Congress in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, which comprises the far reaches of the East Valley and has been represented by Rep. Andy Biggs since 2017. Biggs is abandoning the seat to run for governor.
The district Feely hopes to represent is nowhere near the Arizona-Mexico border, yet Feely has resorted to the classic MAGA trope of filming campaign videos near it. He posted one to X in which he rambles about immigration while wearing a bulletproof vest more cumbersome and protective than any pads he donned while hoping to avoid being trampled by a 300-pound defensive lineman.
“When he was in office the first time, he builds the wall,” Feely tells the camera, referencing President Donald Trump. “He runs out of time, it stops, and they don’t continue it and now we have 26 miles right here — 26 miles that’s wide open.”
Trump built only 80 miles of new wall in his first term, well short of the 400 he promised. Feely also added that the land he is standing on in the video “is the corridor of where they are bringing through all the fentanyl and the drugs,” though most reliable sources note that the majority of illicit drugs are brought through ports of entry and not through impassable expanses of the desert.
Gallego, a Democrat and Marine Corps veteran, commented on the video with a quick rip.
“Why are (you) wearing a flak jacket? It’s the middle of the desert you poser,” the senator wrote. Gallego’s tweet has garnered more than 4,000 likes and counting.
Indeed, most politicians who perform the “visit to the border” campaign stunt — including Gallego — opt instead for the Western pattern shirt and jeans. While reactionary politicians love talking about the border as a war zone, few dress as if it is.
Feely’s political director, Alex Nicoll, did not respond to a Phoenix New Times request for comment.
The former kicker is running for the GOP nomination to represent Gilbert, Queen Creek and other East Valley cities in a competitive primary that includes former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and former state Rep. Travis Grantham. Lamb, whose unsuccessful 2024 run for Senate against Kari Lake might give him some name recognition, is considered the favorite. Feely has name recognition, too, though the MAGA base of the party views him warily.
Feely’s campaign has raised about $1 million through September, according to campaign finance records — though at least $300,000 of that is a loan he made to himself. He currently has $785,000 in cash on hand, more than double what Grantham has reported.
The Federal Election Commission has not yet posted finance data on Lamb, who officially announced his run on Tuesday and won’t have to file a finance report until next year.
