Jay Feely called Social Security a ‘Ponzi scheme.’ In CD1, 175,000 people rely on it.

In the hotly contested Congressional District 1, roughly 175,000 people receive Social Security, a program whose fate could be decided by whoever wins control of Congress. Jay Feely, the Republican on the ballot this year, has called the program a “liability” and called it a “Ponzi scheme.”  

That could matter immensely with voters: Recent polling shows that voters in other battleground states this year are eager for a solution that avoids automatic cuts to Social Security benefits in 2032. Those solutions, or lack thereof, could play a critical role in one hotly contested race. 

A poll released by the nonpartisan Peter G. Peterson Foundation found that 91% of voters surveyed in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas said they support changes to the program that would prevent any automatic cuts. Additionally, 85% said they believe it is more important for lawmakers to fix the program due to increasing costs for voters across the country. 

Congressional District 1 is both Arizona’s wealthiest district and one of the state’s most competitive. Although it leans red, it has long been a high priority for Democrats — particularly this year, with Americans’ dislike for Trump threatening to drag down GOP candidates even in reliably safe districts. 

Feely, a former NFL kicker and broadcaster, is facing off against former state lawmaker and emergency room physician Amish Shah in November

In 2011, Feely agreed with a 2011 op-ed that called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.” That same year he was asked by a follower online if he was against the program. 

“No but it is a liability that needs reforming, we’re sticking our head in the sand,” he wrote on social media. 

Feely’s campaign did not respond to questions about his plan for Social Security if he is elected or if he supports the cuts that are slated to occur in 2032. 

But he has made his views crystal clear in the past, saying that both Social Security and Medicare are “destroying our finances” and are the “basis of our (national) debt problems.” 

Feely also has supported privatizing Social Security and raising the retirement age. Privatization may already be in the cards, thanks to the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that President Donald Trump championed and Republicans in Congress approved last year. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it included language buried in it that gives the Trump administration the ability to privatize the program. 

In an interview with “Arizona Horizon” earlier this year, Feely also said Americans need to have a discussion about Social Security that “nobody’s been willing to do since 1983,” referring to congressional action that increased the retirement age to 67 and made 50% of Social Security income taxable. 

Shah, his Democratic opponent, has pledged to fight against attempts to cut Social Security benefits or privatize the system.

“Dr. Amish Shah will always stand up to protect Social Security so that every Arizona senior receives the benefits they paid for and earned,” Shah campaign manager Eve Zhurbinskiy said in a statement to the Mirror. “In contrast, Jay Feely has called the program a ‘Ponzi scheme’ and supports cutting benefits and raising the retirement age.”

Shah has said he will “force billionaires to pay their fair share and work with both parties” to improve Social Security’s funding.