Sports figures-turned-politicians have mixed results in midterm elections
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asserted
figures → turn → elections
- Former NFL linebacker and Democrat Colin Allred won a Texas congressional seat in a landslide, while former MLB slugger Mark Teixeira also won a House seat as a Republican.
- Former college football coach Tommy Tuberville won Alabama’s governorship, but several sports figures lost, including former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe in a close California Assembly race.
- Iowa Democrat Josh Turek, a four-time Paralympian and wheelchair basketball gold medalist, delivered the night’s standout upset, flipping a U.S. Senate seat by defeating Republican Ashley Hinson.
asserted
Turek → win → Hinson
The Democratic politician from Texas played linebacker for the powder blue-clad Tennessee Titans for four years and he rode the historic blue wave Tuesday to return to the U.S. House of Representatives.
asserted
he → play → Representatives
Allred, who served three consecutive terms in Congress before making an unsuccessful bid for the Senate in 2024, is one of several prominent former athletes who ran for office in the midterm elections.
asserted
who → serve → elections
He won this time in a landslide over Republican Patrick Gillespie, collecting nearly 80% of the votes in the 33rd Congressional District located in Dallas County.
asserted
He → win → County
In an Substack essay in August, Allred enumerated lessons learned playing in the NFL, calling them “the core values I’m bringing with me in my fight for Congress”: Staying humble, recognizing that leadership comes from bringing people together despite their differences and building strong relationships, trust and teamwork.
asserted
leadership → enumerate → relationships
Joining Allred in Congress — albeit from the other side of the aisle — will be another former professional athlete who ran a successful campaign in Texas: Former Angels slugger Mark Teixeira, a Republican who will succeed Chip Roy.
asserted
who → join → Roy
Teixeira was the fifth overall pick in the 2001 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers, for whom he played until 2007.
asserted
he → play → 2007
After brief stints with the Atlanta Braves and Angels, he spent nine seasons with the New York Yankees, helping them to a World Series title in 2009 and finishing second in MVP voting.
asserted
he → spend → voting
The race for Los Angeles mayor remained too close to call.
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race → remain → mayor
Nationally, Democrats celebrated historic victories allowing them to seize control of Congress.
asserted
them → celebrate → Congress
After retiring in 2016 with 409 career home runs, Teixeira returned to Texas and announced his candidacy for the 21st Congressional District a year ago.
asserted
Teixeira → retire → District
An avowed conservative, he said he was “ready to help defend President Trump’s America First agenda, Texas families, and individual liberty.”
asserted
he → say → agenda
Trump endorsed Teixeira and he defeated 11 candidates in the Republican primary.
asserted
he → endorse → primary
Historically, former athletes running for office lean Republican.
asserted
athletes → run → office
Decades after helping Michigan to national championships in 1932 and 1933, the outstanding center and linebacker Gerald Ford became the 38th president of the United States on the Republican ticket.
asserted
Ford → help → ticket
Ford never played professionally, but several men who did have served in Congress: Rep. Jack Kemp (R-NY), Rep. Steve Largent (R-OK) and Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) played in the NFL; Sen. and Rep. Jim Bunning (R-KY) was a Hall of Fame MLB pitcher; and Sen. Bill Bradley (D-NJ) was a Hall of Fame NBA forward.
asserted
Bradley → play → Fame
Dave Bing and Kevin Johnson became the Democratic mayors of Detroit and Sacramento, respectively.
asserted
Bing → become → Detroit
And if the net is widened to include powerlifting and pro wrestling, Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Jesse Ventura of Minnesota get a nod.
asserted
Schwarzenegger → widen → nod
Tommy Tuberville, a former longtime college football coach and Republican senator since 2021, won the governor’s race in Alabama on Tuesday, defeating Democrat former Sen. Doug Jones.
asserted
Tuberville → win → Jones
Tuberville posted a record of 159-99 over 21 seasons at Auburn, Cincinnati, Texas Tech and Mississippi.
asserted
Tuberville → post → Auburn
Tuesday’s results weren’t just a repudiation of Trump or MAGA, but a rejection of the white nationalism that has crept from margins to mainstream over the last decade.
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that → creep → decade
Two former NFL players and a veteran NFL broadcaster appear to have fallen short in their attempts to win political office.
asserted
players → appear → office
Republican Jay Feely, an NFL kicker for six teams over 14 seasons, trails Democrat Amish Shah, a former team physician for the New York Jets, 52.6% to 45.4% with 85% of the vote tallied in a race for the U.S. Congress in Arizona.
asserted
% → trail → Arizona
Democrat Chris Kluwe, a Minnesota Vikings punter from 2005-2012, lost a close race to Republican Gracey Van Der Mark to represent California Assembly District 72, which mainly consists of Orange County beach communities.
asserted
which → lose → communities
And Republican Michele Tafoya lost the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota to Democrat Peggy Flanagan, the state’s lieutenant governor.
asserted
Tafoya → lose → Flanagan
Tafoya was a sideline reporter for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” and also worked as a broadcaster for CBS and ABC.
asserted
Tafoya → work → CBS
Perhaps the most impressive showing by a former athlete was that of Iowa Democrat Josh Turek, who flipped a seat for the U.S. Senate by defeating Republican Congresswoman and former TV anchor Ashley Hinson.
asserted
who → flip → Hinson
Born with spina bifida and confined to a wheelchair after his father was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, Turek is a four-time Paralympian and two-time gold medalist in wheelchair basketball.
asserted
Turek → bear → basketball
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