John Roger Williams (born September 13, 1949) is an American businessman and politician who has been the U.S. representative for Texas's 25th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he served under Governor Rick Perry as Secretary of State of Texas from 2004 to 2007. Early life, education, and business career Williams was born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1949 and raised in Fort Worth. He played college baseball for the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs (TCU) from 1968 to 1971 and was selected in the 25th round of the 1971 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves, playing in the farm system and reaching the Class A Western Carolinas League. He coached TCU's baseball team. Williams inherited the family's automobile dealership from his father, who founded the business in 1939. Early political career Williams began his political career as a fundraiser for Governor George W. Bush in his 1994 and 1998 elections. He became North Texas Chairman for the Bush/Cheney 2000 campaign, North Texas Finance Chairman in 2004, and National Grassroots Fundraising Chairman for the 2004 campaign. Governor Rick Perry appointed Williams to be his fourth Secretary of State of Texas in 2004. On June 11, 2007, Williams announced that he would resign as secretary of state, and late in 2008 he formed an exploratory committee to consider a run for the United States Senate seat held by Kay Bailey Hutchison, who had formed her own committee to consider a 2010 race for governor of Texas. Williams considered a run for Senate in 2012 but decided to run for the House of Representatives instead. U.S. House of Representatives Elections 2012 In June 2011, Williams announced that he was dropping his Senate bid to instead run for Texas's 25th congressional district. The district was a newly drawn district stretching from central Austin to Burleson. Congressional district 25 has been cited as one of Texas's most gerrymandered districts. Williams does not live in the district; his home in Weatherford is in Texas's 12th congressional district. Williams ranked first with 25% of the vote and qualified for a runoff election. Wes Riddle ranked second with 15%. In the July 31 runoff, Williams defeated Riddle, 58% to 42%. In the November general election, Williams defeated Democratic nominee Elaine Henderson, 58%–37%. 2014 In the November 4 general election, Williams defeated Democrat Marco Montoya and Libertarian John Betz, receiving 107,120 votes (60.22%) to Montoya's