Show-Me State Times

The St. Louis Cardinals have emerged as the favorite Major League Baseball team among Missouri residents, according to a recent poll conducted in August 2024 by SLU/YouGov. The survey included 900 likely voters from the state and revealed that 41% consider the Cardinals their preferred team, while 20% favor the Kansas City Royals.

Steven Rogers, Ph.D., who is the SLU/YouGov Poll Director and an associate professor of political science at Saint Louis University, noted that "in a time of contentious politics, the Cardinals enjoy strong support from Missouri Republicans, Democrats, and Independent voters." Specifically, the poll found that 45% of Republican voters, 38% of Democratic voters, and 42% of Independent voters identified as Cardinals fans. The Royals were consistently ranked second across these groups.

Other teams received minimal support in comparison. The New York Yankees were chosen by two percent of those surveyed as their favorite team, while one percent favored the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Chicago Cubs garnered support from just under one percent.

Geographically, Cardinals fans are widespread throughout Missouri beyond just St. Louis; they have significant followings in the northeast, southwest, and southeast regions. In contrast, Royals supporters mainly reside around Kansas City and northwest Missouri.

A notable portion of respondents—26%—reported having no favorite Major League Baseball team at all. However, younger adults aged between 18 to 29 years old showed a higher likelihood than other age groups to declare a favorite team. This trend suggests that baseball remains popular with younger generations.

The survey's margin of error stands at ±3.79%. YouGov conducted interviews from August 8-16 using its proprietary opt-in panel consisting of over three million U.S residents who participate in web surveys. Respondent demographics were weighted against known characteristics derived from various data sources like public voter records and previous national surveys to ensure accuracy.

This particular poll was funded by SLU's PRiME Center within its School of Education. Saint Louis University has established an ongoing partnership with YouGov for annual voter surveys in Missouri. YouGov is recognized for conducting reliable polls for several academic institutions and major media outlets such as CBS News and The Economist.