A World Series winner heads to Washington while a familiar NFL sideline voice comes up short in Minnesota's Senate race.
From the diamond to Capitol Hill: former World Series champion Mark Teixeira has won a seat in the US House of Representatives. Running as a Republican, he took Texas's 21st Congressional District in Tuesday's midterm elections.
Teixeira beat Democrat Kristin Hook and was sitting on 54.5% of the vote on Wednesday morning, with 99% of ballots counted. That is a comfortable margin for a first-time candidate who spent his career in baseball, not politics.
The night did not go as well for another sports-world name. Former NFL sideline reporter Tafoya, who ran for the Senate in Minnesota, lost to Peggy Flanagan. Her bid ends without the broadcasting-to-Washington jump she was chasing.
The split result shows how far the crossover from sports into politics has come. One athlete-turned-candidate is headed to Washington, and one media star is going back to the drawing board.
