Ex-MLB star Teixeira wins U.S. House seat in Texas; Tuberville to be Alabama governor

Republican Mark Teixeira, a three-time Major League Baseball All-Star, has won election to the U.S. House in Texas's 21st Congressional District.

The former slugger for the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees defeated Democrat Kristin Hook, a former federal scientist who worked for the National Institutes of Health and the Government Accountability Office. Teixeira ran for the 21st District seat currently held by Republican Rep. Chip Roy, who decided not to seek reelection. Teixeira won the Republican primary for Congress with more than 61 percent of the vote in March.

"Together, we can build a better future for our families, our neighbors, and every community across Texas 21," Teixeira said in a statement posted on X. "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 began his career with the Rangers, and was the 5th overall pick in the 2001 MLB draft. His 14-season career included three All-Star Game appearances, five Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers and a World Series title with the Yankees in 2009. Teixeira and his family moved back to Texas in 2021 after he retired from baseball.

In his announcement that he was running for Congress, Teixeira pledged to work with Trump to secure the border and end "radical woke indoctrination."

The 21st Congressional District covers a deeply conservative area west of both Austin and San Antonio. Teixeira announced his bid days after Republicans in the state Legislature approved a redistricting map meant to favor the GOP in the 2026 election.

In other races Tuesday, former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, a Republican, lost her U.S. Senate race in Minnesota to Democrat Peggy Flanagan.

Tafoya, who had stressed to Republican voters her opposition to transgender women playing women's sports, was making her bid for political office after gaining fame as a sideline reporter for NBC's "Sunday Night Football" and "Monday Night Football" on ESPN and ABC. She had hosted a frequently political podcast prior to her Senate run.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.