Sports stars have mixed results with voters in elections

Lynn Swann, the Hall of Fame receiver whose football career was one long string of successes, was beaten Tuesday in his bid to become Pennsylvania's governor.\nFormer NFL quarterback Heath Shuler did better, beating a Republican incumbent for a congressional seat in North Carolina. It was one of the closely watched races in the effort by Democrats to regain control of the House of Representatives.\nThe other prominent sports figure in the electoral lineup Tuesday was track great Jim Ryun, a Kansas Republican who was trying for a sixth term in the House.\nKentucky Sen. Jim Bunning, the Hall of Fame pitcher, does not go before voters until 2010. Tom Osborne, the former Nebraska congressman and longtime Cornhuskers football coach, lost in a gubernatorial primary.\nSwann, who won four Super Bowl crowns with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was unable to maximize his celebrity buzz.\nThe 54-year-old Republican lost to Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell. Swann began the day trailing by double digits in the polls.\nSwann, a political newcomer, was trying to become Pennsylvania's first black governor but was up against an experienced opponent and skilled fundraiser. Swann positioned himself as a reformer, promising to slash business taxes and tighten state spending.\n"Changing Harrisburg is bigger than Lynn Swann or any one individual campaign," he said.\nShuler, a Heisman Trophy runner-up at Tennessee who spent four unexceptional seasons in the NFL with Washington and New Orleans, defeated Rep. Charles Taylor, an eight-term Republican incumbent.\nThe 34-year-old ex-quarterback was born in the hills of western North Carolina and trumpeted what he called "mountain values." He opposed abortion, supported gun rights and environmentalism and said the administration had gone astray on Iraq.\nAt a ballroom in Asheville, N.C., Shuler supporters chanted, "Heath, Heath, Heath" and clapped along as an aide sang "Rocky Top" -- the Tennessee fight song.\nRyun, the one-time world-record holder in the mile, took on Democrat Nancy Boyda. It was a rematch of the 2004 contest that Ryun won easily. Ryun has been an ardent supporter of Republican policies, and Boyda's campaign featured the slogan of "Had Enough?"\nIn other congressional races:\n-- Baron Hill, a Democrat and former basketball player at Furman, gained a seat in Indiana.\n-- Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., a former captain and linebacker at Northern Arizona, won another term in Arizona.\n-- Former Stanford women's basketball star Angie Paccione made a bid to unseat a Republican in Colorado.\n-- Italo Zanzi, who competed at the Pan American Games as a U.S. team handball player, took on a Democratic incumbent in New York.\nAway from Capitol Hill, Joe DeNucci, a middleweight boxer who twice lost to Emile Griffith, won his race to remain Massachusetts state auditor.\nFred Hemmings, a former world surfing champion, campaigned for another term as a state senator in Hawaii. Mike Nifong, the district attorney prosecuting three Duke lacrosse players, won in Durham, N.C.\nAmong the ballot measures, the Sacramento Kings hoped to win support in their attempt to get a new arena.\nIn Missouri, a proposed constitutional amendment that would ensure stem cell research was on the ballot. St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan was among a group of sports stars speaking against it.\nSports and family also crossed paths.\nSen. George Allen, R-Va., son of the former Washington Redskins coach, was in a key race with former Navy Secretary Jim Webb.\nThe mother of Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints tried for a spot for a place on a Texas appeals court. The quarterback had asked Mina Brees to stop using his picture in her TV ads and even threatened to sue her.\nIn Maryland, Michael Steele was in a Senate race against Rep. Benjamin Cardin. Steele holds a unique distinction in politics: He is Mike Tyson's former brother-in-law.