iStockphoto / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Former Yankees player Mark Teixeira over an elephant and an American flag
The Republican Party did not have a lot to be happy about in the wake of the 2026 midterm elections. However, there was a silver lining on an otherwise miserable night, as the GOP landed a major weapon it can deploy in an annual baseball game between members of Congress after former MLB player Mark Teixeira earned a House seat in in Texas.
There are plenty of professional athletes who’ve decided to pursue a career in politics after retiring.
Bill Bradley won two titles during the 10 seasons he spent with the Knicks before being elected to three terms as a United States senator representing New Jersey, and former Bills quarterback Jack Kemp spent nine terms serving people in the Buffalo suburbs in the House of Representatives before running for vice president and serving as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under George H.W. Bush.
Jim Bunning is probably the most accomplished baseball player to enter the political fray. The Hall of Fame pitcher, who spent 17 seasons in the MLB, established himself as a player in Kentucky politics before spending 25 years in Washington, D.C. as a member of both chambers.
Mark Teixeira was certainly no slouch during his time in the league, and he’ll be a major asset for the Republican Party in an annual congressional tradition that stretches back well over a century.
Mark Teixeira could give the Republicans a big edge in the Congressional Baseball Game
Mark Teixeira was born and raised in Maryland, but he made his MLB debut with the Rangers in 2003 a couple of years after they selected him with the fifth overall pick in the draft.
The slugger spent four-and-a-half seasons with Texas while ushering in a 14-year career where he also played for the Braves, Angels, and Yankees, and the first baseman was a three-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner who won a title with the Bronx Bombers in 2019.
In 2025, Teixeira announced his plans to run for a seat in the House of Representatives in the 21st congressional district in Texas after it was vacated by Chip Roy, a fellow Republican who launched an ill-fated attempt to land the nomination for the state’s Attorney General in this year’s midterm election.
I assume most people who are reading this are aware of how things panned out on Tuesday, as the Democratic Party flipped the House and the Senate in one of the biggest electoral victories in recent American history.
Texas was one of the states that were hit by the so-called blue tsunami, and a redistricting effort that was intended to boost its majority in the House ended up being unsuccessful after the GOP ended up losing a seat.
However, Republicans still have 24 seats to the Democrats’ 14, including the one Teixeira won after beating Kristin Hook by nine points in the solidly red patch of Hill Country outside of Austin and San Antonio.
That is a very positive development for the party that currently boasts a six-game winning streak in the Congressional Baseball Game, the annual showdown between teams comprised of Republican and Democratic members of Congress that has a history stretching back to 1909.
Teixeira is only one player, and while the 46-year-old may not be past his prime, it’s certainly not going to hurt to have a three-time Silver Slugger winner who finished his career with 409 home runs.
We’ll presumably get to see what impact he has when the 2027 edition of the game is played next summer.