Former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler won a seat in the U.S. House, track great Jim Ryun lost his race and Super Bowl star Lynn Swann fell short Tuesday in elections involving ex-athletes.

Shuler beat a Republican incumbent for a congressional spot in North Carolina. The race had been considered a tossup, and was one of the closely watched campaigns in the effort by Democrats to regain control of the House of Representatives.

Ryun, a Kansas Republican and once the world-record holder in the mile, lost in his bid for a sixth term in the House.

Swann, the Hall of Fame receiver whose football career was one long string of successes, was beaten in his bid to become Pennsylvania's governor.

Kentucky 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.

Shuler, 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.

The 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.

At 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.

Ryun lost to Democrat Nancy Boyda. It was a rematch of the 2004 contest that Ryun won easily. Ryun had been an ardent supporter of Republican policies, and Boyda's campaign featured the slogan of "Had Enough?"

Swann, who won four Super Bowl crowns with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was unable to maximize his celebrity buzz.

The 54-year-old Republican lost to Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell. Swann began the day trailing by double digits in the polls.

Swann, 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.

"Changing Harrisburg is bigger than Lynn Swann or any one individual campaign," he said..