Former Suns' guard Kevin Johnson hoping for election victory

Basketball's Kevin Johnson, football's Sam Wyche and Heath Shuler and boxing's Joe Mesi were trying to score victories of a different sort Tuesday, looking to win elections on a night when about a dozen sports figures ran for office.

Craig Robinson wasn't listed on any ballot, but depending on the night's results the first-year Oregon State basketball coach could soon be a frequent White House visitor. Robinson was in Chicago awaiting the outcome of the presidential race with his family, which includes brother-in-law Barack Obama.

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.

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 was trying to win a seat on the Pickens County Council in South Carolina, an area that includes Clemson University.

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.

Shuler, a Heisman Trophy runner-up at Tennessee who went on to play quarterback for the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints, is a North Carolina congressman running for re-election.

Others in the House up for re-election were Rep. Baron Hill, a former Furman basketball player, and Rep. Norm Dicks, an ex-linebacker at the University of Washington.

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, once a Pro Bowl safety with the Minnesota Vikings, sought 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, was on the ballot 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 going after 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 on Tuesday night. 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 Metro Council spot in Louisville, Ky.

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