Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
The race to represent Texas’ 21st Congressional District in the U.S. House will pit Republican Mark Teixeira against Democrat Kristin Hook in November.
Teixeira is a former New York Yankees star who began his Major League career with the Texas Rangers. He has the endorsement of President Donald Trump and is running on a platform that includes a hardline approach to immigration, support for gun rights, and banning transgender athletes from competing in school sports. Teixeira was not immediately available for comment.
Hook previously worked as a biological scientist at the National Institutes of Health and secured the Democratic nomination. She says the biggest divide in the country isn’t ideological.
“I’m going to steal from Molly Ivins here — I think the greatest division we have in our country is not left versus right, it’s top versus bottom,” Hook told TPR.
Hook said voters are increasingly focused on economic issues and the needs of working families.
“Our district does lean conservative, but a lot of people are waking up to seeing how politicians have not been serving the needs of working Texans for a very long time. That wealth inequality has become so much more apparent, and my policy, and you know, platform is about working Texans and working families and building back power for us,” she told TPR.
Texas’ 21st Congressional District spans from San Antonio through the Hill Country to the Austin area. The seat opened up when Congressman Chip Roy announced he would run for Texas attorney general.