“Ann Wagner is an out-of-touch elitist who consistently votes to raise costs on Missouri families. While Wagner hides from her own constituents and peddles an unpopular, reckless agenda, veteran Fred Wellman is running to finally put Missouri families first – to lower prices, grow our economy, and protect every American’s freedom to make their own health care decisions,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.
__
To: Interested Parties
From: Lindsay Reilly, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: August 4, 2026
Subject: The Case Against Ann Wagner
Ann Wagner has shamelessly rubber-stamped a reckless, cost-hiking agenda that guts health care and food assistance for thousands of hardworking Missouri families. Labeled “infamously inaccessible” by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Wagner has spent over a decade in Congress hiding from her own constituents, refusing to hold in-person town halls, and getting rich. Beyond hiding from voters, her extreme, out-of-touch agenda extends to pushing bills to jail doctors and nurses who provide abortion care, directly defying her own district’s strong support for reproductive freedom. The epitome of the D.C. swamp, Wagner has also been accused of “being in the pockets” of the same industries she supposedly regulates as a member of the Financial Services Committee. In sharp contrast to Wagner’s disastrous extremism and elitism, combat veteran and native Missourian Fred Wellman is running to reject special interests and fight for the lower costs, affordable health care, and fair shot that Missouri families actually deserve.
A U.S. Army veteran, entrepreneur, father, and native Missourian, Fred has dedicated his life to serving his country and community. Fred attended Kirkwood public schools before graduating from West Point with a commission as an Army aviator. After decades in the military and multiple combat tours, Fred became an advocate for veterans and military families. Fred is running because he believes all Missourians should have a fair shot at a good life and that our economy should reward hard work, not special interests. In Congress, he’ll fight for affordable health care, lower costs, and the freedom to build a secure future.
Wagner is a deeply unpopular incumbent who’s known for her cost-hiking agenda, chronic absence from the community, and extreme positions. In a midterm election year where Democrats are overperforming in special elections by 17 points, dominating on the generic ballot, and Missourians are turning out to protect abortion rights, Missouri’s Second Congressional District is squarely in play.
A Reliable Rubber Stamp For A Reckless, Cost-Hiking Agenda
Wagner has consistently voted to make life harder for Missouri families. A rubber stamp for a reckless, cost-hiking agenda, Wagner cast a key vote to pass the Big, Ugly Bill – legislation that guts Missorians’ health care and food assistance programs to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. She has ruthlessly defended the unpopular bill despite the fact more than 100,000 Missourians are expected to lose insurance through MO HealthNet because of Wagner’s cuts, while 40,000 Missourians already have less food on their table. Meanwhile, at least sixteen Missouri health facilities have closed or will soon close, including St. Luke’s Hospital in Des Peres in Wagner’s district – a closure that cost 336 jobs.
Wagner’s price-raising agenda includes eliminating key tax credits that lower health care premiums, a decision that has contributed to a roughly 25% reduction in ACA coverage that cost more than 86,000 Missourians their health care. On top of Wagner’s cuts to health care, she’s repeatedly voted to protect price-raising tariffs that are jacking up costs on families and small businesses, greenlight a reckless war in Iran that’s leading to higher prices at the pump and skyrocketing diesel and fertilizer prices for Missouri farmers, and eliminate protections for Missourians with pre-existing medical conditions.
Unlike Wagner, Fred Wellman is running to give all Missourians a fair shot at the American Dream. He’s laser-focused on lowering costs and making sure Missourians are free to live their best lives without being burdened by rising costs.
Absent Ann Wagner Is Out Of Touch With And Too Extreme For Her District
Habitually absent from Missouri’s Second Congressional District, Wagner has been under near constant fire for refusing to hold in-person town halls with Missourians. As one constituent wrote, Wagner’s disastrous, anti-Missouri agenda could potentially be explained by the fact that she is “simply… unaware of how folks in [her] community feel… [since] she refuses to do town hall meetings.” Wagner has reportedly never held a single in-person town hall in her 13 years in Congress. Even her local editorial board has blasted her for being “infamously inaccessible to the public and the press.”
With little engagement with her community, it’s no wonder why Wagner is so out of touch with Missourians. Wagner embraced Jefferson City Republicans’ deeply unpopular scheme to redraw Missouri’s congressional districts in a desperate attempt to cling to power. Polling shows Missourians “strongly oppose” the Wagner-backed plot to rig the state’s congressional map. Wagner, who previously referred to potential future constituents as “wacko birds,” doubled down on supporting the redistricting plot on social media. In a since-deleted tweet, Wagner seemed to blame the state of California for opposing Missouri’s efforts to rig its congressional map. The problem? Wagner was responding to a post from a newspaper based in California, Missouri – a reflection of just how out of touch Wagner is with her state.
Wagner’s extreme agenda extends to opposing a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions. Wagner wrote the bill to jail doctors and nurses who provide reproductive health care, saying that she personally believes that restricting access to abortion is one of her “most precious duties as a lawmaker.” Meanwhile, Missourians strongly support access to reproductive care, with a majority of voters in Wagner’s former district – which heavily overlaps with her new district – voting to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution in 2024. With abortion on the ballot again this cycle, Wagner is going to again face voters who are fired up about reproductive rights.
At the same time Wagner is hiding from Missourians, Fred Wellman has held multiple town halls to hear from voters directly about what’s on their minds. Wellman is committed to showing up, listening to Missourians, and bringing their voices back to Washington. Wellman is also a champion for freedom and supports women making their own health care decisions.
A Creature of Washington Who Works For Special Interests, Not Missourians
Ann Wagner has spent decades in Washington cozying up to D.C. elites and special interest donors. A former, longtime GOP operative who repeatedly tried (and failed) to climb the political ladder, Wagner is trained to look out for herself, her political party, and her donors, – not for Missourians. Wagner has received millions from Wall Street interests, including while she serves on the House Financial Committee and Chairs the Subcommittee on Capital Markets. Wagner has repeatedly worked in her corporate donors’ interests, all while leaving working Missourians out to dry. Even the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board has called Wagner out for being “deeply… in the pockets of payday lenders and big banking interests,” saying it “stinks of swamp politics.” Wagner’s personal wealth has also tripled since her election to Congress, up from approximately $7 million in 2013 to over $25 million in 2025. Rather than hold in-person town halls with Missourians, Wagner is hiding away in her 9,000 square foot, multi-million-dollar mansion.
Fortunately for Missourians, they have a patriotic alternative to swamp creature Ann Wagner. From a military family, U.S. Army veteran Fred Wellman is running for Congress to serve his community – not himself, a political party, or donors.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
The Lancerfeed: Where’s Ann? Local protestors seek answers from congresswoman [The Lancerfeed, 2/28/26]
“Back in 2018, PolitiFact could find no record of Ann Wagner attending any public in-person events in her district. Since then this has held true, with many voters being met with silence from their representative. Though she has attended private events in the region and held “tele-town halls” during her six terms as St. Louis County’s congresswoman, she has yet to attend an in-person event in her district.”
First Alert 4: Voters in MO-2 are calling for communication from Congresswoman Ann Wagner [First Alert 4, 10/19/25]
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Editorial: Mo.’s House Republicans betrayed their constituents. Its senators must not. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/30/25]
“That vote… was nothing less than the heartless betrayal of the most vulnerable of [Wagner’s] own constituents. [She] abandoned them in [her] eagerness to reward the rich at the expense of everyone else, or [her] mute terror of Trump, or some combination of both.”
Webster-Kirkwood Times: Why Is Wagner Against Affordable Health Care? [Webster-Kirkwood Times, 1/19/26]
“One reason is that Rep. Wagner may simply be unaware of how folks in our community feel about health care insurance costs. How could she? She refuses to do town hall meetings with constituents; she only does invitation-only gatherings with supporters.”
Missouri Independent: Federal budget megabill would shift billions in cost to Missouri taxpayers [Missouri Independent, 7/3/25]
St. Louis Call Newspapers: Writer opines on Congresswoman Ann Wagner’s priorities [St. Louis Call Newspapers, 6/16/26]
“Ann Wagner talks about supporting working families, but her voting record tells a different story. Over and over, she has sided with wealthy donors, corporations and the Trump administration instead of average Missourians trying to keep up with rising costs.”
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Editorial: Rep. Ann Wagner’s loyalty to financial industry stinks of swamp politics [St. Louis Post Dispatch, 3/22/17]
Kansas City Star: Missouri lawmaker slams elections ‘decided in California.’ She missed one detail [Kansas City Star, 12/10/25]
“Wagner’s apparent social media misfire has sparked criticism from her opponents, who framed it as an example of her being out-of-touch with Missouri voters.”
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Rep. Ann Wagner backing Trump redistricting push despite political perils [St. Louis Post Dispatch, 8/4/25]
Politico: Missouri voters against redistricting effort, Democratic poll finds [Politico, 9/4/25]
St. Louis Post Dispatch: National Democrats target Ann Wagner’s 2nd Congressional District seat in 2026 [St. Louis Post Dispatch, 4/8/25]
Kansas City Star: Opinion: Fred Wellman: I’m running to keep Trump from gutting Missouri veterans’ health care [Kansas City Star, 12/21/25]
PATH TO VICTORY
Ann Wagner is a deeply unpopular incumbent who has a tough road ahead of her. While Missouri’s Second Congressional District was gerrymandered to be slightly more favorable to Wagner, she is plagued by her own reputation, having spent over a decade in Washington pushing an extreme agenda that leaves working Missourians behind. Voters also hate Jefferson City Republicans’ plan to rig Wagner’s race before a single vote is cast – which could backfire against her. Constantly under protest, it’s clear voters in Missouri’s Second Congressional District are eager for change.
Wagner is running for re-election in a midterm wave election year where Democrats have overperformed in special elections by 17 points. At the same time voters are choosing between Wagner and U.S. Army veteran Fred Wellman, they’ll also consider a ballot measure to ban abortion in Missouri in most cases – a referendum likely to turn out voters who support abortion rights and oppose anti-abortion extremist Ann Wagner. Altogether, these factors give Democrats the strongest chance in years to defeat Wagner and flip this seat in November.
|
