Democrats Again Deploy Dirty Tricks To Suppress Votes For Jay Feely
Democrats got caught attempting to suppress Republican votes and deceptively boost third-party candidates against Jay Feely, a new investigative report revealed.
This marked the second election in a row Democrats sent deceptive messages attempting to beat the Republican AZ-01 nominee.
“Shame on Socialist Amish Shah refusing to condemn his Democrat Party’s despicable dirty tricks. Socialist Shah cannot win on his record of advocating for socialist government healthcare, taxing essentials like groceries or open borders, so his dark money overlords resorted to trying to suppress and trick voters.” – NRCC Spokesperson Ben Petersen
In case you missed it…
‘Flat-out racist.’ Groups boost Libertarians, attack Feely, Ciscomani
Arizona Republic
Laura Gersony
November 2, 2026
Several shadowy groups are making a last-minute bid to pull votes away from Republicans and toward third-party candidates in Arizona’s competitive U.S. House races.
Weeks before Election Day, the “dark money” American Forge Coalition criticized Republican Jay Feely’s campaign finances and praised his little-known Libertarian rival for taking “no AIPAC donations.”
Another group, called Our Heritage Matters, referred to incumbent Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani as “Mexican-born” in political mailers.
The groups behind the attack ads have not disclosed their activity with elections officials, making it difficult to confirm the source of the funds. Our Heritage Matters has spent millions of dollars targeting vulnerable House Republicans, including Arizona’s Feely, Ciscomani and Rep. Eli Crane.
None of their ads have attacked Democrats.
The flood of last-minute money comes under the shadow of allegations that the partisan operatives have meddled in the nation’s top races. In Alaska, Democrats secretly helped recruit a candidate with the same name as incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, according to a story published by The New York Times that drew national attention ahead of Election Day.
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Spokespersons for the Arizona Republicans suggested similar tactics are at play. A representative for Feely called the ads “electoral skullduggery.”
“This effort is flat-out racist, insulting to the voter and therefore, ineffective,” said Daniel Scarpinato, a spokesperson for Ciscomani. “If this is in fact a tactic from the left like we have seen before, it shows just what a gutter-level they will sink to in an effort to suppress votes. It’s disgusting.”
Attack ad blitz appears to benefit Democrats
Though it’s not clear who is behind the funding, Democrats appear to be the biggest beneficiary of the eleventh-hour spending blitz.
Our Heritage Matters was formed Oct. 15, the day after a fundraising disclosure deadline. Since then, the group has spent more than $7 million across the country attacking Republicans and boosting third-party candidates for the U.S. House and Senate, according to campaign finance records.
The group has spent about $320,000 in Arizona, records show.
That includes $82,000 supporting Monica Alponte, who is running against Feely; $51,000 supporting Curtis Goodwin, who is running against Crane; and $83,000 supporting Jereme Lance Peters, who is running against Ciscomani. All three candidates are Libertarians.
The group spent another $54,000 attacking Ciscomani directly, $19,000 attacking Feely and $32,000 attacking Crane.
The American Forge Coalition and Stand Your Ground, two other groups that have boosted Libertarian candidates in Arizona, have not disclosed their activity with federal elections officials. Stand Your Ground shares a name with a group that has supported Republican Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton, but that group hadn’t reported any spending in Arizona.
Ciscomani was the target of similar attacks in 2024.
A group called Save Western Culture sent mass text messages that year insulting the congressman’s background as an immigrant and claiming he had voted against U.S. interests. Two years later, the source of the funding remained unknown: The group received $1.6 million from another dark money entity called “Stop China Now” before dissolving in 2025, records show. A D.C. watchdog group has called for a federal investigation.
The latest mailers say Ciscomani “prioritizes Mexico over America” and, without citing a specific bill, said he secured money to import sewage from Mexico to the United States. The mailer describes Peters, the Libertarian candidate, as a “true American.”
Both major political parties routinely use third-party candidates to influence the country’s most competitive congressional races. In Arizona this year, top Democratic and Republican lawyers leapt to the defense of little-known independent candidates whose presence on the ballot was expected to benefit their political party.
Brian Seitchik, a Feely spokesperson, accused Democrats of being behind the latest attacks.
“This electoral skullduggery reeks of desperation from Amish Shah and his Washington Democrat friends,” Brian Seitchik said. “They know Shah is out of touch with Arizona voters, and rather than defend his record, they’re resorting to the same sleazy political games that make Washington a swamp.”
A spokesperson for Shah declined to comment.