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World Series champion Teixeira wins US House seat as former NFL reporter Tafoya’s Senate bid fails
Former baseball star Mark Teixeira won Texas’s 21st congressional district for the Republicans, while former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya lost her Minnesota Senate bid to Democrat Peggy Flanagan. Their results came amid broad Republican losses in the midterms, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s defeat.
Teixeira led Democrat Kristin Hook with 54.5% of votes counted from 99% of ballots; the seat had been Republican-held since 1979. Democrat Josh Turek’s Iowa victory secured his party at least 51 Senate seats, while Flanagan became the first Native American woman elected to the Senate. In Alabama, former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville won the governorship.
In short
- Mark Teixeira won a Texas House seat with 54.5% of the vote.
- Josh Turek’s Iowa victory gave Democrats at least 51 Senate seats.
- Peggy Flanagan defeated Michele Tafoya in Minnesota.
Explained simply
The US Congress has two parts: the House of Representatives, where members represent local districts, and the Senate, where each state elects two senators. House and Senate elections are held alongside presidential elections or halfway through a president’s term; these midterm elections can change which party controls Congress.
Texas’s 21st district has been represented by Republicans for decades, while Minnesota’s Senate contest was one of the races that could shape the balance between the parties in the upper chamber. The candidates came from different public backgrounds: Mark Teixeira played Major League Baseball, and Michele Tafoya reported from the sidelines of NFL games.
The results also matter because voters chose state governors as well as members of Congress. Governors lead state governments, which make decisions on areas such as education and public services.
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