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A poll conducted by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling indicates that the Democratic party is eyeing former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright for a Congressional run. Wainwright, 43 years old, spent his 18 year career with the St. Louis Cardinals from 2005 to 2023.
According to a report from the political website Inside Elections, “a recent poll in Missouri’s 2nd District tested former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright in a potential congressional match-up against GOP Rep. Ann Wagner.”
The report indicates that the poll presented subjects with a three-sentence biography that summarized Wainwright’s life, career accomplishments, and philanthropic endeavors.
“Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Adam Wainwright?” and “If the candidates for Congress next time were Republican Ann Wagner and Democrat Adam Wainwright, who would you vote for?” were among the questions asked, according to a Reddit user who allegedly participated in the poll.
“The survey then asked an “informed ballot” question again testing Wainwright against Wagner. The poll also included a similar battery of questions about Bob Clark, the billionaire construction CEO and St. Louis native who was a fundraiser for Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.”
“The suburban district isn’t currently among the races rated as competitive by Inside Elections, but an out-of-the-box Democratic candidate such as Wainwright would have the potential to draw attention and resources to the race.” [via Inside Elections]
NEWS | Congressman Waino?
A Democratic group recently attempted to recruit former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright to run against GOP Rep. Ann Wagner in MO-02.
A May 21-22 survey tested the 3x All-Star against the 7x incumbent.https://t.co/Pt1cU7cFfT
— Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) June 9, 2025
At this time, Wainwright has yet to publicly address a potential career in politics.
Unfortunately for Democrats hoping that Wainwright will run, sources told Inside Elections that he “doesn’t look poised to jump into the race anytime soon,” having begun a career as a broadcaster with FOX following his retirement from the league.
During the course of his 18-year MLB career, Wainwright won one World Series (in 2006), was named to three All-Star games, and finished with 200 wins, 2,202 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.53.