Nine candidates are vying to win the bid for Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District, currently held by Rep. Ann Wagner.
Republicans Peter A. Pfeifer, Brandon Wilkinson, Matthew R. Grant and Elizabeth Sparks-Holmes, and Democrats Timothy D. Bilash, Joan VonDras and Fed Wellman, and Libertarian Brandon Coulter Daugherty are challenging Wagner for the position.
The 2nd District encompasses portions of St. Louis County, including just north of the Meramec River at Arnold, Eureka, Wildwood and Fenton, along with High Ridge, Cedar Hill, De Soto and Dittmer in Jefferson County. Wagner, a Republican, has held the seat since 2012. She was reelected in 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022 and 2024.
Members of Congress receive an annual salary of approximately $174,000.
Democratic candidates Bilash and Wellman have not returned a survey for the voters guide. Republican candidates Pfeifer, Wilkinson and Sparks-Holmes have also failed to return a survey.
Republicans
Wagner, 63, of Ballwin has served as the U.S. Rep. for Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District since 2013. She served as the United States ambassador to Luxembourg from 2005-2009. She served as the first woman chair of the Missouri Republican Party from 1999-2005. She also served as a local committeewoman in Lafayette Township, and on the boards of the St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Campfire USA, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Cor Jesu Academy, Forest Park Forever and Washington University in St. Louis International Scholars Academy. She held management positions at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City and Ralston-Purina in St. Louis. She graduated from the University of Missouri in 1984 with a bachelor of science in business administration. Wagner is married to Ray and has three children and six grandchildren.
Grant, 50, of St. Louis is an attorney with a juris doctorate from the University of Missouri in Columbia. He is an Eagle Scout and served as a Boy Scout leader. His spouse is Christine Tinker-Grant, and he has two children and three stepchildren.
Why should voters elect you, and what are your goals if elected?
Wagner: I have lived in Missouri’s 2nd District my whole life, raised my family here, and had my first job right here in our community where I learned the value of hard work, honesty and investing in our neighborhoods. I have the experience and integrity to effectively serve the 2nd District and make sure our Midwest values are fully represented in Congress. My top legislative priority is to lower the cost of living and make life more affordable and easier for hardworking Missouri families. As your congresswoman, I will continue to vote to lower taxes, ease prices at the gas pump and grocery stores, and help you keep more of your hard-earned dollars so you can save for your future.
Grant: As an attorney with a juris doctorate from the University of Missouri, I have spent my career advocating for families and individuals navigating complex legal systems. I am running for Congress because I believe our government must be more accountable, more efficient and more focused on the people it serves. My goals include reforming the broken family court system, enacting grandfathered term limits to restore fresh leadership in Washington, reducing the size of government through a responsible federal hiring freeze coupled with voluntary early retirement, and lowering taxes by rooting out the fraud and corruption that waste taxpayer dollars. I am not a career politician — I am a citizen who believes in public service as a duty, not a privilege. I will bring a lawyer’s discipline and a dad and neighbor’s common sense to Congress. I ask for your vote on Aug. 4.
What unique opportunities will you champion for your district if elected?
Wagner: I am dedicated to keeping our communities safe from violent crime that threatens your family and way of life. I’m fighting to secure the border from illegal immigrants, traffickers and drug cartels. I will continue to pass legislation to support the most vulnerable, like victims of child and sexual abuse. I will always work to ensure seniors are protected from fraudsters. Here in Jefferson County, I will work with our local leaders, law enforcement, elected officials and businesses to champion policies that grow our local economy and create jobs, provide stability and safety for growing families, and protect our safety and our constitutional freedoms.
Grant: Missouri’s families deserve a representative who fights for them at every level. I will champion reform of the family court system, which too often fails the parents and children who depend on it for fair outcomes. I will push for a federal hiring freeze to right-size government and return dollars to taxpayers. I will advocate for term limits — grandfathered to respect current service — so that Washington sees new voices and new ideas. And I will work to eliminate the fraud and corruption that inflate government costs and undermine public trust, delivering real tax relief to Missouri families and small businesses. These are not abstract policy goals — they are the issues I hear about from constituents every day. I will be accessible, responsive and tireless in representing this district’s interests in Washington.
Do you believe Missouri’s current, redrawn congressional maps are contiguous and compact or gerrymandered? Explain your answer.
Wagner: Multiple courts, including the Missouri Supreme Court, have ruled the current congressional lines are legal, meet all compactness and contiguous standards required by the state, and split fewer counties and cities than previous congressional maps.
Grant: Gerrymandering is a national problem that both parties have used to entrench power at the expense of voters. Until there is a uniform, nonpartisan approach applied consistently across all states, both parties will continue to draw maps that benefit themselves — and Missouri’s efforts are not unique in that regard. The solution is not to point fingers at one party or one state, but to demand a fair national standard: independent redistricting commissions, clear compactness requirements, and transparency in the map-drawing process. Voters should choose their representatives; representatives should not choose their voters. I support reform that takes politics out of redistricting at every level of government.
Democrat
VonDras, 63, of Wildwood has 30 years of experience teaching in the Parkway and Clayton school districts, along with local universities. She launched Town Talks Live in 2025. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Missouri in St. Louis in 1985 and a master’s degree in education from UMSL in 1987. She is married to Roch and has two children and two grandchildren.
Why should voters elect you, and what are your goals if elected?
VonDras: I will work on behalf of the good people of Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District to achieve meaningful progress in these critical areas:
Affordability – working people should be able to afford food, gas, healthcare and safe, comfortable housing while being able to save for retirement.
Healthcare – Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. We must lower costs and provide universal coverage.
Education – Good education systems attract good jobs and protect property values. Expanding public education to include pre-K will make family life affordable and raise our standard of living.
What unique opportunities will you champion for your district if elected?
VonDras: I hope to become a member of the agricultural committee. We must support and protect our family farmers. The agricultural industry is the largest industry in the state and our farmers are critical to affordable, available and safe nutritious food supply. We must sustain and encourage rural healthcare providers. I will apply to be on the Problem Solvers Caucus. This bipartisan caucus is responsible for the bipartisan infrastructure bill that has brought jobs to Missouri and has recently passed the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, bringing affordable housing to our middle class.
Do you believe Missouri’s current, redrawn congressional maps are contiguous and compact or gerrymandered? Explain your answer.
VonDras: I believe the intent of the Missouri Constitution is to conduct congressional redistricting after every 10-year official census. I believe the voters should pick their representation and that gerrymandering takes this important right away from our citizens.
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