World Series champion Teixeira wins US House seat as former NFL reporter Tafoya’s Senate bid fails

Former World Series champion turned Republican politician Mark Teixeira will represent ⁠Texas’s 21st Congressional District in Washington after defeating Democrat Kristin Hook in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

On Wednesday morning, Teixeira was leading with 54.5% ⁠of the ​votes after 99% of the ballots had been counted.

“Tonight’s victory belongs ⁠to the people of Texas’s 21st District. I’m not going to Washington for myself, but rather to be a strong, responsive ⁠voice for every family in this district,” wrote on X. “Together, we can build a ​better future for our families, ‌our neighbors, and every community ‌across Texas 21. I’m excited to get to work. I will ‌be praying for all of you and for the future of this great nation. God bless Texas, and God bless America.“

Teixeira’s victory was expected. The seat has been in Republican hands since 1979. It was previously held by Chip Roy, who didn’t run for reelection. The district includes deeply conservative parts of Texas in the Austin ‌and San Antonio areas.

Donald Trump and Texas’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, endorsed Teixeira’s campaign. Abbott lost his ​reelection campaign against Democrat Gina Hinojosa, and the Republicans suffered sweeping losses across the US in a repudiation of Trump’s second term in power.

According to Teixeira’s campaign website he aims to “end radical woke indoctrination, defend parental rights, kill DEI, restore patriotic education rooted in American and Texas values … and fight against Cultural Marxism.”

Teixeira, 46, was born and raised in Maryland, and he attended Georgia Tech. A first-round draft pick by the Rangers in 2001, he played for Texas ⁠from 2003-07 before stints with the Atlanta Braves (2007-08), Los Angeles Angels (2008) ​and New York ​Yankees (2009-16). Teixeira was selected an All-Star ​in 2005, 2009 and 2015, and he helped the Yankees ​win the 2009 ‌World Series. ​

Elsewhere in the midterms, former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, who was running as a Republican, lost her bid for the US Senate in Minnesota to Peggy Flanagan, the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor. Tafoya did not actively seek out support from Trump and broke ranks with Republicans over the war with Iran. She also portrayed herself as pro choice but did not clarify her exact stance on access to abortion.

Minnesota has not elected a Republican to the US Senate since 2002. Flanagan is also the first Native American woman to be elected to the upper chamber.

In Alabama, former college football coach Tommy Tuberville, a Republican, won the race to become Alabama governor. The 72-year-old formerly coached Auburn, one of the most popular college teams in Alabama.