Mark Teixeira Wins Texas House Seat

Republican Mark Teixeira, a former Major League Baseball star, has been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas' 21st Congressional District.

Teixeira defeated Democrat Kristin Hook in the general election. Hook previously worked for the National Institutes of Health and the Government Accountability Office. The 21st District seat was previously held by Republican Rep. Chip Roy, who decided not to seek reelection.

Teixeira won the Republican primary with more than 61% of the vote in March. He 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 President Donald Trump to secure the border and end 'radical woke indoctrination.' The 21st Congressional District is 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. Former college football coach Tommy Tuberville, a Republican, won the Alabama gubernatorial race, defeating Democrat Doug Jones in the second head-to-head election involving the two men.