Politics & Government

Wagner Kicks Off Congressional Bid at Ballwin Home

The formal announcement by Ann Wagner of Ballwin on Thursday pits her against fellow GOP supporter Ed Martin in the race for the 2nd Congressional District.

As a local politico and self-proclaimed “hometown girl,” Ann Wagner of Ballwin has worn many hats.

She’s served as a member of the Lafayette Township Committee, she’s chaired the Missouri Republican Party, and she's co-chaired the Republican National Committee before an unsuccessful bid to lead the RNC earlier this year.

On Thursday, however, her latest hat was exchanged for an umbrella as she formally announced her bid for Congress after a heavy downpour in Ballwin.

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“I’m tired of a government that taxes too much, that borrows too much and spends too much of our hard-earned dollars,” Wagner told a crowd of more than 150 supporters, who gathered under a tent following a slowdown in the rain. “It’s time to cut up the government credit card and stop mortgaging our children’s future.”

Wagner's announcement pits her against fellow Republican Ed Martin, a St. Louis attorney and former candidate for Democrat Russ Carnahan's third district seat in 2010. Like Wagner, Martin aims to succeed Republican U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, who will vacate his second district congressional seat in favor of a bid for the U.S. Senate.

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Wagner, who also recently chaired Roy Blunt's successful U.S. Senate campaign, was joined on stage Thursday by her husband of 23 years, Ray, and their three children: Raymond, a 2011 graduate of West Point Military Academy, Stephen, who will start his junior year at Washington University this fall, and Mary Ruth, an incoming high school junior.

Wagner said another part of her hometown roots dates back to her parents’ ownership of Carpet Time, a St. Louis-based shop that marked Wagner’s first job.

“(I) learned a lot as a shopkeeper's daughter,” Wagner said.

Those lessons included shaping her sympathies for business owners. In a dissent from the stance urged Friday by fellow Republican and House Speaker John Boehner, Wagner said she is “not in favor in any way, shape or form” of raising the country’s debt limit — a major issue before Congress that pundits say could have major economic implications.

“I’d break-out the government’s credit card and melt it down, because we’re not going to raise the debt ceiling,” Wagner said. “That is mortgaging our children’s future and this is about our children and our families.”

“That’s why I’m running,” Wagner later said. “After so many years in the public policy debate, I’m putting my name on the ballot for the first time to be a candidate here in the second district.”


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