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(AP) -- Football's Heath Shuler and Sam Wyche scored victories of a different sort Tuesday while basketball's Kevin Johnson and boxing's Joe Mesi were looking to win elections on a night when more than a dozen sports figures ran for office.

Craig Robinson wasn't listed on any ballot, but the first-year Oregon State basketball coach could soon be a frequent White House visitor. Robinson was in Chicago to watch election results with his family, which includes brother-in-law and President-elect Barack Obama.

Shuler, a Heisman Trophy runner-up at Tennessee who played quarterback for the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints, won in his first bid for re-election to Congress.

Shuler is a North Carolina Democrat whose district is in the state's western mountains. He defeated Carl Mumpower, who had irritated local Republican officials by saying he would support efforts to impeach President Bush.

Wyche coached in the NFL with Cincinnati and Tampa Bay and made it to the Super Bowl with the Bengals after the 1988 season. He ran as a Republican and won a seat on the Pickens County Council in South Carolina, an area that includes Clemson University.

Wyche, once a quarterback at nearby Furman, had 80 percent of the vote with all but three precincts reporting. He promised better roads and schools and more jobs.

Johnson, a former NBA All-Star, was running for mayor of Sacramento, Calif. The one-time point guard of the Phoenix Suns is trying to raise the profile of his hometown in this run-off election and become the city's first black mayor.

The 42-year-old Democrat with conservative social views was facing two-term incumbent Heather Fargo and has gotten the backing of basketball celebrities Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley.

"We should be a destination place," Johnson said leading to the election, bemoaning his city's image beside the likes of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Mesi has never been beaten in the ring and was once a top heavyweight contender. At one time, the 34-year-old New Yorker had to stop fighting for two years because of bleeding in his brain. He was running as a Democrat for the state Senate in New York and had the support of Buffalo Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano.

Joining Shuler in re-election to the House was Rep. Baron Hill of Indiana, a former Furman basketball player. He defeated former Rep. Mike Sodrel, a Republican and trucking company owner. The two have faced off in four consecutive elections.

Rep. Norm Dicks, an ex-linebacker at the University of Washington, was going for another term in the House. Former BYU kicker Jason Chaffetz was running for Congress in Utah after beating the incumbent in the Republican primary.

Sports was on the sidelines for the U.S. Senate races. The only ones with jock connections were not up for election - Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, a Hall of Fame pitcher, and Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Joey Browner, a former Pro Bowl safety with the Minnesota Vikings, was running as a write-in and was almost certain to lose his bid for a place on the City Council in the Minneapolis suburb of Eagan.

In state legislative races, Peter Boulware, a former star linebacker at Florida State, was seeking a seat in Florida. Bob Heaton, who played with Larry Bird at Indiana State, lost a close race in Indiana.

Former major league baseball player Randy Bass was bidding for the Oklahoma Legislature as were two former college football players - Todd Thomsen at Oklahoma and Tad Jones at Tulsa. Anton Gunn, a former lineman at South Carolina, was running for a seat in the state where he played in college.

In Hawaii, Mufi Hannemann, a 6-foot-7 former Harvard basketball player, was eyeing another term as Honolulu's mayor.

Sports and family were not limited to the Obamas. Connie Mack, the great grandson of the legendary manager, was running for re-election as a Florida congressman. George Unseld, the brother of NBA great Wes Unseld, scored a lopsided victory for a spot on the Louisville (Ky.) Metro Council.

And Michael Victorino, the father of Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino, was unopposed in Hawaii for the Maui County Council.

Among ballot measures tied to sports, Massachusetts voted to ban greyhound racing.

(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)