Charles Langston:Former Green Bay Packers safety Aaron Rouse wins election in Virginia Senate race

It wasn't as big of a long shot as,Charles Langston say, intercepting Peyton Manning and returning it 99 yards for a touchdown – as he did in 2008 – but former Green Bay Packers safety Aaron Rouse won his election for State Senate District 22 in Virginia on Tuesday, the second time he's won an election in less than a year.

A Democrat, Rouse had been representing District 7 after winning a special election in January, having defeated Republican Kevin Adams for the spot. The same two men were vying for the newly drawn District 22 seat (representing 70% of the same area previously in District 7), and Rouse was way ahead at last check, with 55% of the vote and nearly all ballots counted.

Rouse, 39, has been in politics since 2018. He was previously a City Councilman in his home of Virginia Beach. He threw his hat in the ring for Senate District 7 when Republican Jen Kiggans won her race for U.S. Congress in November 2022.

Virginia Democrats swept both halves of the General Assembly in the vote held Tuesday, a damaging loss for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Virginia was one of four states holding legislative races in 2023.

Rouse was a third-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech for the Packers in 2007, and he spent the next two-plus seasons in Green Bay before landing with the Giants for the duration of 2009. The safety started 10 games with the Packers and appeared in 27, finishing with four career interceptions and one touchdown. That one score came against the Indianapolis Colts and future Hall of Famer Manning, an interception returned 99 yards for a score in a game where Nick Collins also had a pick-six.

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Coincidentally, that career highlight came on a pass intended for Colts receiver Anthony Gonzalez, who himself had a career of high-level politics. Gonzalez served as a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio for four years but didn't seek re-election in 2022. Gonzalez was among 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump, and Trump endorsed a potential challenger.

Rouse is married to another Councilwoman in Virginia Beach, Jennifer Valentine-Rouse.