Politics & Government

Ballwin Resident Running for U.S. Congress Seat Speaks In Wildwood

Ann Wagner, who is seeking the 2nd Congressional District of Missouri seat, addressed Wild Horse Township Republicans members on Saturday.

Ann Wagner of Ballwin relates starting a U.S. Congress campaign to drinking from a fire hose, but said it's worth it because she wants to set up the 2nd Congressional District of Missouri with strong and effective conservative leadership in Washington, D.C. She declared her candidacy after Congressman  that , and .

"These are really different and troubling times. We have a lot at stake, especially as we face another presidential race in 15 to 17 months," she said. "We're at a crossroads, and we have to decide who we will be as people, and as a nation."

Wagner addressed members of the Wild Horse Township Republicans on Saturday at the . She recently sought to , but lost the appointment to Wisconsin GOP leader Reince Priebus in January.

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Wagner said she was involved in public policy debates over the last 20 years, but this is the first time she felt compelled to run for a state or federal office.

The 2nd Congressional District now includes approximately 570,000 people in St. Louis County, 135,000 in St. Charles County and 40,000 in Jefferson County, primarily Fenton and Arnold.

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Wagner said she believed her neighbor to neighbor, person to person and retail experience will serve her well. "Grassroots contact is the difference and what wins elections."

She said she is fed up with matters in D.C. "Our government currently taxes too much, borrows too much and spends too much of our money—our money."

"Because this district raised me up and gave me every opportunity in the world, I will fight for jobs for this region and try to make it the economic engine it could be," said Wagner, who referenced working in her parents' carpet store located on Manchester Road by the time she was 12 years old. She said she worked for minimum wage at first, then earned a small commission when she began to sell carpet.

She said she grew up, went to school and attended church in the Webster Groves to Wildwood area, and that her husband, Ray Wagner, was from the Ballwin area. They have three children: the oldest son just graduated from the Military Academy at West Point, a second son is interning in the legislative arena and their 16-year-old daughter attends Ursuline Academy. (Wagner graduated from Cor Jesu Academy, to answer a traditional St. Louis question.)

Wagner's background includes chairing U.S. Senator Roy Blunt's campaign. She represented the United States for four-plus years as U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg. Previously, she co-chaired the Republican National Committee and chaired the Missouri Republican Party. She served for nine years as a local committeewoman in Lafayette Township Republicans. In the private sector, she held management positions at Hallmark Cards and Ralston Purina.

She said it is easier for seated members of Congress to run campaigns because they can raise federal campaign dollars and transfer them to state positions, but not the other way around.

When asked Saturday what she would change in D.C., she said she would dissolve the Department of Education. "Education is a state, local and parental issue. I wouldn't be in favor of a national database of our children," she said.

Wagner also indicated one of her goals, if she succeeds in gaining the seat, would be to establish a permanent Republican headquarters within the 2nd District. "We've had victory offices in the past that can't be sustained. But we need voter contact and a place of outreach," she said.

She said this is the third redistricting effort with which she's been involved, having worked on establishing new maps herself in 1991 for the Missouri House and Senate.

Wagner officially kicks off her campaign on July 7, with a barbecue at her home in Ballwin. E-mail for details.


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