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December 7th , 2025 Len’s Political Note #772 Fred Wellman Missouri 02
2026 General Election
Fred Wellman
In 2017, Ray Hartman of the St. Louis Magazine wrote the following: “U.S. Representative Ann Wagner has built a nice career for herself flying under the political radar. In the Age of Trump, however, all that might change”.
Nearly a decade later, Ann Wagner is still there and has not changed. Ray Hartman had explained: “She parlayed decades as a Republican establishment stalwart as she morphed from pro-life activist to GOP official to major fundraiser for President George W. Bush to U.S. ambassador to congresswoman”
Ann Wagner has been targeted by Democrats in the past. Nevertheless, she keeps winning. In 2024, she was elected by a margin of 51,388 votes defeating, who else? Ray Hartman.
In 2026, Ann Wagner has a serious opponent. Is Fred Wellman a sufficiently serious opponent to win this election? Is he the candidate the DCCC and the Democratic Party need in a year where mid-decade redistricting will flip one of Missouri’s two Democratic seats.
Fred Wellman has his thoughts about the incumbent. He says: “Ann Wagner hasn’t held a town hall in years, she’s tripled her net worth while in Congress, and she’s been nothing other than a rubber stamp on Trump’s agenda.”
Ann Wagner would object to that characterization. In August, 2025, she wrote on X:
“It was great to see so many Second District constituents at the AFP town hall in Town and Country to discuss and celebrate the passage of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill. I updated the crowd about its provisions to secure our borders, unleash American energy dominance, support our military, and keep taxes low. I appreciated the questions from the audience and enjoyed answering them all.”
She did not explain on X that AFP stands for the Association of Professional Fundraisers. She did not explain that the “Town Hall” was not exclusively concerned with her. She did not explain that the “Town Hall” only admitted people to this “Town Hall” approved by the Fundraisers. Finally, she did not explain that this “Town Hall” was virtual.
Fred Wellman was wrong about Ann Wagner being a rubber stamp for Trump. Her attitude toward Trump has varied. In 2016, she endorsed Donald Trump, withdrew her endorsement, and reversed herself before the election. During Trump’s first term, she supported him on such crucial issues as repealing the Affordable Care Act. She was among the one hundred plus Republican Members of Congress to support Trump’s crucial Texas v Pennsylvania lawsuit, the lawsuit intended to win him the presidency. When push came to shove, though, she voted to certify the electoral college results from Arizona and Pennsylvania favoring Biden. During Trump’s second term, as she was quoted above, she voted for Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. This was a crucial vote. She could remain in Congress or be forced to leave based on the consequences of that vote.
Has she enriched herself while serving in Congress? At a time when the President of the United States is open about using his position to enrich himself by billions, just about everyone else, including Ann Wagner, might be considered small potatoes. Nevertheless, a Quiver Trade Tracker headline at the end of June, 2025 read: Representative Ann Wagner Made an Estimated $3.6M in the Stock Market Last Month.
Ann Wagner has been consistent in one area — her opposition to abortion, her opposition to anything that appears to be sexual trafficking, her opposition to gay rights, and her particularly vigorous opposition to transgendered people.
Has Ann Wagner had an impact on the issue of the day – whether or not the United States is a place where ordinary people can afford to live? She has not been an advocate of fixes to the OBBB’s health insurance subsidy elimination. When she considers the needs of women, child care is not her focus.
Fred Wellman has had a life that is different from Ann Wagner’s. He tells us he has lost everything. He lost his wife and child to an automobile accident. He lost his second wife to divorce. He has been through bankruptcy. He knows what it is like to be beaten down and keep on struggling.
Fred Wellman is a 1987 graduate of West Point. In the military he flew attack helicopters and ideas. While he was working on civilian projects in Iraq, General David Petraeus saw him and liked his presentations. Fred Wellman followed General Petraeus back to Kentucky and then to Washington. He took time out to get a degree at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and became part of the military public relations arm.
Retired, he became an expert on helping military personnel prepare for civilian life. His advice was to find and study a field before retirement, persist in finding your civilian job and civilian life. Do not wait for job openings. Contact the firms that strike you as places you would want to work. He created his own firm, ScoutComms, which prospered when the country prospered and failed when the country did not. ScoutComms and Fred Wellman went bankrupt during the pandemic.
Fred Wellman remained well connected. He remained a commodity himself. When the Lincoln Project, an organization of anti–Trump Republican political consultants faltered as a result of the self-dealing and financial corruption of its leaders, Fred Wellman was called in to reorganize.
I don’t know the particulars of Fred Wellman’s impact I don’t know if Fred Wellman fixed the Lincoln Project. I know The Lincoln Project is operating effectively now and is among Donald Trump’s toughest critics. I know Fred Wellman has retained ties with the Lincoln Project as he has made his transition to politician.
The Lincoln Project says of Fred Wellman’s candidacy for Congress:
“Fred Wellman’s campaign turns Missouri’s 2nd District into a live test of whether service, proximity, and actual presence can beat money, incumbency, and manufactured photo-ops.”
The Lincoln Project explains that the public reaction to the Trump presidency makes a Democratic candidate like Fred Wellman viable:
“The district’s shifting political terrain shows how collapsing trust in national Republicans is creating unexpected openings in places long written off.”
And The Lincoln Project explains that incumbent Ann Wagner’s reputation for stock trading makes her particularly vulnerable in contrast to a candidate whose life, in the public sector and the private sector, has been devoted to service to his country and to those like him who have served their country in the military.
“The stock-trading culture in Congress has become a political accelerant, supercharging the contrast between representation as public service and representation as personal profit.”
Support Fred Wellman. DONATE to his campaign. This could be an upset in the making.
Neighboring States
Iowa
Governor. Support State Auditor Rob Sand. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #746
Iowa 01. Support Law Professor and former State Rep Christina Bohannan. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #737
Kansas
Governor. Support State Senator Ethan Corson. DONATE.
Attorney General Support former local policeman and national anti drunk driving leader Chris Mann. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #752
Kansas 03. Support incumbent and former Native American business advisor Sharice Davids. DONATE
Nebraska
US Senate. Support labor leader and independent candidate Dan Osborn. DONATE. See Len’s Political Note #765.
