We've got a special bonus edition of the newsletter for you today, covering the results of all kinds of sports-related ballot initiatives and politicians running for office.
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We → get → office
This is not an entirely exhaustive list—do not come at me for excluding Abdul El-Sayed (who played club lacrosse in college) or an NFL punter who I don't remember that ran for state legislature.
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that → come → legislature
Vote totals may change slightly from what we have here as final vote counts come in.
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counts → change → what
We'll start with ballot initiatives, since they have a more direct impact on sports policies.
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they → start → policies
In Plano, Texas, voters rejected several tax increases that would have helped fund a new development, including an arena for the Dallas Stars.
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that → reject → Stars
The tax increases included a 2 percent tax on hotel rooms, a 5 percent tax on car rentals, an event parking tax of $3 per car, and up to a 10 percent tax on tickets.
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increases → include → tickets
Athletes themselves would have been taxed too, paying a $5,000 "facility-use tax" for each game played at the new arena.
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Athletes → tax → arena
Over in Inglewood, California, the vote on an expanded ticket tax for SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome, and Kia Forum is extremely tight—50.76 percent of voters have sided with no tax increases, but votes are still being counted.
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votes → expand → increases
Also, in McKinney, Texas, the school district asked to issue a $2.5 million bond to upgrade its 12,000-capacity football stadium.
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district → ask → stadium
Voters rejected the idea, with almost 70 percent against.
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percent → reject → idea
Nebraska passed a ballot initiative, with 68 percent in favor, requiring public schools, and private schools competing against public schools, to designate their sports teams by biological sex (coed included as an option).
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Nebraska → pass → option
It also bans males from participating in female sports.
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It → ban → sports
A similar measure in Colorado seems likely to pass, but has just 52.7 percent support with an estimated 88 percent of votes counted.
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percent → seem → votes
Arizona already has a law like this for K-12 public schools, but Proposition 318—which passed with 59 percent of the vote—extends it to private schools, colleges, and athletic association facilities (like Little League).
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which → have → League
In Washington State, Measure 638 has similar prohibitions, and it passed with 57 percent of the vote.
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it → have → vote
The new law will require female athletes to submit sex verification documents from their doctor or healthcare provider.
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law → require → doctor
Two ballot initiatives sought to legalize online sports betting in Nebraska, but they both failed with about 55 percent of the vote against.
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they → seek → vote
Nebraska has legal sports betting, but only at in-person, physical sportsbook locations.
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Nebraska → have → locations
Colorado voted on Proposition 137, to divert a portion of the sales tax on sporting goods to be spent on environmental conservation.
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Colorado → vote → conservation
With 87 percent of votes counted, the measure is leading narrowly with 50.8 percent support.
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measure → count → support
A portion of Colorado cities voted to collectively approve Proposition 7A, which will create a 0.333 percent sales tax in those cities to be spent on a passenger rail system that will have stations at, among other places, Colorado's major sports stadiums.
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that → vote → stadiums
Of course, federal legislation wasn't on the ballot, but with Democrats taking over so much of the government in January, you have to think they'll have no interest in backing the carefully negotiated Protect College Sports Act in its current form.
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they → take → form
They can just wait until January and try to get a better deal (though they would still need President Donald Trump's signature then, unless they can get some GOP help to overcome his veto).
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they → wait → veto
"If you want a quote, here it is," the aide said, "the NIL bill is dead on f****** arrival.
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bill → want → arrival
It's time for college sports to move on from the PCSA. https://t.co/bQrf5FEcM2
— Mit Winter (@WinterSportsLaw) November 5, 2026
Now for the politician-athletes who ran for office:
Senate
Minnesota Senate:
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who → move → office
sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, running as a Republican, lost her race with 44 percent of the vote.
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Tafoya → run → vote
Josh Turek, a wheelchair-bound Paralympian, won two gold medals with the U.S. men's national wheelchair basketball team.
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Turek → bind → team
On Election Day, he won again as a Democrat, with 51 percent of the vote.
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he → win → vote
Incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, won with 50 percent of the vote.
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Ricketts → win → vote
The Ricketts family—led by Pete's father—are owners of the Chicago Cubs.
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family → lead → Cubs
Incumbent Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat, is now much more well-known as a senator than he was as a Stanford tight end, but just to cover our bases, he won reelection with 62 percent of the vote.
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he → know → vote
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican, decided to run for governor instead of the Senate again, and he won with 52 percent of the vote.
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he → decide → vote
Tuberville was a well-known college football head coach for two decades combined at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech, and Cincinnati.
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Tuberville → know → Miss
Incumbent Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, won reelection with 62 percent of the vote.
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Healey → win → vote
Healey was co-captain of Harvard's basketball team and spent two years playing professional basketball in Europe in the 1990s.
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Healey → spend → 1990s
Incumbent Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, won reelection with 51 percent of the vote.
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Pillen → win → vote
He was a defensive back at Nebraska under Tom Osborne and was inducted into the school's Football Hall of Fame long before his political career.
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He → induct → career
Incumbent Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican who won lower-level stock car racing championships and competed as recently as 2022, won reelection with 53 percent of the vote.
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who → win → vote
Incumbent Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican, won reelection with 64 percent of the vote.
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Jordan → win → vote
He announced on Wednesday that he'll run to be minority leader for Republicans in the new Congress.
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he → announce → Congress
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
