Already a success on the mound and in the broadcast booth, with a budding career as a country music artist to boot, Cardinals great Adam Wainwright was recently approached through his agents about entering another competitive arena: politics.
A 51-based political analyst asked if the former All-Star and World Series champion would be interested in running for Congress.
Wainwright replied with a clear answer.
The “time for me, if ever, is not right now,” he told the Post-Dispatch.
That didn’t keep his name from floating alongside other public figures as trial balloons in a recent poll of Missouri voters that spurred online speculation. A goal of the poll was to identify who or what traits — in addition to political party — could make for a compelling challenge in the state’s 2nd Congressional District, a seat held by Republican Ann Wagner for more than a decade.
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The poll was conducted by Public Policy Polling, a North Carolina-based company that advertises how it reaches voters by phone or text message. The group that paid for the poll is not publicly known. Public Policy Polling did not respond to messages from the Post-Dispatch.
One of the questions in the poll, shared on Reddit and confirmed by the Post-Dispatch, asked voters if they have “a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Adam Wainwright,” and who they’d vote for if “Democrat Adam Wainwright” ran against Wagner. Other popular or well-known public figures — including Clayco chairman Bob Clark — were included as hypothetical challengers to Wagner.
Wagner responded in a statement sent Wednesday.
“Adam is a Cardinal legend and he and his family are lovely people,” she said. “I haven’t had a chance to see them since they moved full time to Georgia a few years ago, but they were great neighbors and I wish them all the best.”
After the poll was shared on Reddit, some websites began to suggest Wainwright was being lobbied or promoted as a candidate, neither of which was the case.
When his agents were first contacted, no specific party was mentioned, Wainwright said. He was not approached by Missouri Democrats.
Wainwright did not specify which party he would affiliate with or if he affiliated with one at all.
“Honored to be considered for either party,” Wainwright told the Post-Dispatch. “They were adamant that I should take a run at it. One day maybe. I’m ready to have somebody run that I can believe in and trust to do the right thing. But that time for me, if ever, is not right now with all we have going on.”
A source involved in the poll said it was organized as part of a national data-driven project to identify nontraditional candidates. The source described building statistical models from such polling as “‘Moneyball’ — but for politics.”
Adam Wainwright’s debut country album, “Hey Y’all,” was released on April 5, 2024.
Since winning his 200th game with the Cardinals and retiring at the end of the 2023 season, Wainwright has been an analyst for FOX Sports and has continued his involvement in charitable endeavors. He also released a country album after retirement, and he performed at the Grand Ole Opry and on “The Today Show.”
Parents of five, Wainwright and wife Jenny reside in Georgia. During his playing career they split the year between Chesterfield and their home in Georgia.
A summary of his biography was included in the poll to ask voters if they found that “a very convincing, somewhat convincing, or not convincing reason to vote for Adam Wainwright.”
Wagner has represented the 2nd Congressional District since 2013. She was reelected in 2024 with 54.5% of the vote. No other candidate received more than 43%.
Dana Rieck of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Adam Wainwright, retiring 51 Cardinals pitcher, performed a concert at Busch Stadium after the team's win over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Video provided by the Cardinals; edited by Beth O'Malley
