Former Major League Baseball player Mark Teixeira is running for an open U.S. House seat in Texas, he announced on Wednesday.
Teixeira, who played first base for four teams — including the Texas Rangers — over a 13-year career, made the announcement in a post on X, saying he’s a “lifelong conservative” and is running on principles to make Texas and the U.S. “great.”
He’s running for the seat representing Texas’s 21st Congressional District, currently held by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas).
Roy, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, announced last week that he would run for state attorney general with Ken Paxton running for Senate.
Teixeira pledged to be a supporter of President Trump.
“It takes teamwork to win – I’m ready to help defend President Trump’s America First agenda, Texas families, and individual liberty,” he said.
Teixeira praised Roy’s time representing the district in a release, saying he served with “unwavering courage and leaves an impressive legacy of principled conservative leadership.” He also leaned into his own background in the state.
“Playing for the Texas Rangers and raising my family in the Lone Star State has been one of the greatest blessings of my life,” he said. “Now I’m ready to answer the call to serve my country, my state, and the conservative principles that made Texas the envy of the nation.”
Teixeira played for more than four years in Texas before also playing for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees. Throughout his career, he was an All-Star three times, won a Gold Glove five times and won the World Series with the Yankees in 2009.
He retired from baseball after the 2016 season.
Teixeira outlined a variety of conservative platform points on his website, calling to enhance border security and deport those here illegally, expand the Department of Government Efficiency to rein in “wasteful spending” and defend the Second Amendment.
He also declared his opposition to abortion, vowed to work to end “forever wars” and called for congressional term limits.
Teixeira is the first Republican to enter the race following Roy’s decision but may be joined by others. Bexar County GOP Vice Chair Kyle Sinclair told The Texas Tribune that he’s considering running in the district.
Whoever wins the Republican nomination will likely win the seat in the heavily conservative-leaning district.
