Joseph Chaplik, a former state representative now running in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, is taking heat from across the spectrum after a May 7 social media post accusing his GOP rival Jay Feely of having "imported Haitians." Feely, a Trump backed frontrunner and former NFL kicker, hit back hard this week, calling the shot racist and publicly defending two Haitian men his family helped sponsor.
As reported by Phoenix New Times, Chaplik wrote on May 7: "I’ve made life better for every citizen in CD1 serving you for 6 years in the state house. Jay Feely has only missed field goals to the left....And imported Haitians." The line echoed conspiracy tinged attacks on Haitian migrants and almost instantly became a flashpoint in the CD1 primary.
Feely answered with an 11 post thread on X, labeling Chaplik's comment "racist" and writing, "I couldn't be more proud of the two young men that we brought into our family." In the thread Feely said the men came legally, "got educated, got jobs, never took welfare," and accused Chaplik of "exploiting their pain for your political purposes." The online volley set the tone for a very public feud.
Feely's Haiti ties
Feely's connection to Haiti dates back to mission work after the 2010 earthquake, when he met and later mentored brothers Delmonte and Marc Wedner. Grand Canyon University's roster and bios document Delmonte's move from Haiti to U.S. college soccer, and reporting notes he lived with the Feely family during that transition. Phoenix New Times also reported that Delmonte is now 34, a married homeowner in Arizona and still working through the green card to citizenship process. GCU provides the details.
High stakes primary
Feely holds a high profile endorsement from former President Donald Trump and has out raised many GOP rivals, giving him clear frontrunner status in the CD1 contest. That national backing and financial edge raise the stakes on any intraparty attack, since friendly fire can quickly turn into a broader spectacle. KJZZ reported on the endorsement and fundraising context.
Chaplik defended his post when pressed by reporters, saying he meant to criticize what he called Feely's "history of bringing large numbers of Haitian migrants to NGOs in an attempt to get amnesty here" rather than the Wedner brothers specifically. His campaign later posted a response on X denying that the remark was racist and accusing Feely of "playing the race card." X shows the exchange.
Why the remark landed
The blowup landed against a wider backdrop of discredited anti Haitian rhetoric that surged in 2024, including widely debunked "pet eating" claims and billboard stunts that national outlets found false. Fact checkers and national reporting warned about how quickly those narratives spread and the real world consequences for Haitian communities. PolitiFact chronicled much of that misinformation campaign.
The exchange underscores a test for Republican primary voters in CD1: whether Trump aligned momentum and name recognition will outweigh concerns about race and immigration rhetoric at the local level. Both campaigns seem intent on making the other the story as the primary approaches, and local outlets are tracking how those skirmishes shape voter attention. Arizona Capitol Times has followed the high profile dynamics of the race.
