Newcomer Democrat Fred Wellman has defeated incumbent Congresswoman Ann Wagner to represent Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District on Nov. 3.
Wagner, 64, a Republican from Ballwin, has held the seat since 2012. She was seeking her eighth term.
U.S. representatives receive an annual salary of approximately $174,000 and serve a two-year term.
According to complete, but unofficial results from the St. Louis County Election Board, Wellman received 134,506 votes, or 56 percent of the vote, to Wagner’s 100,128 or 41.72 percent of the vote.
According to complete, but unofficial results from the Missouri Secretary of State’s office, Wellman received 169,477 votes, or 51.1 percent of the vote, while Wagner received 153,132 votes, or 46.2 percent of the vote.
Libertarian candidate Brandon Coulter-Daugherty was a distant third, receiving 8,782 votes.
Wagner bested Wellman in Franklin, St. Charles and Warren counties.
“Tonight the people of this district hired me to do the job the title says: represent people,” said Wellman in a statement. “I served 22 years in the Army under presidents of both parties, and I never once asked a soldier how they voted. I'm not going to start now. If you voted for me, thank you. If you didn't, I'm your congressman too, and I'll see you at the town hall.
“Families here are paying too much for gas, groceries and health care, and they want someone in Washington working on that. That's the job, and I'm ready to start. Thank you to every voter, every volunteer who knocked on a door, and everyone who took a chance on a first-time candidate.”
Wagner’s spokesperson, Arthur Bryant, did not respond to the Leader’s request for comment.
Wellman, 61, of Wildwood previously served 22 years in the Army as an aviator and also worked in operations and the public affairs office. His time in service included four combat deployments. After retiring as a lieutenant colonel, he founded Scout Comms, a communications and advocacy firm focused on veterans and military families in northern Virginia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he helped lead the New York Presbyterian Ryan F. Larkin Field Hospital in New York City as administrative chief of staff, later serving as senior adviser for veterans affairs and executive director of the Lincoln Project. In 2021, he organized volunteer teams to support Afghan refugees arriving in St. Louis through the International Institute of St. Louis. Since 2021, he has volunteered to foster animals with the ASPCA. From 2022-2025, he was the senior adviser for Voters of Tomorrow. He currently hosts On Democracy with FPWellman on the MeidasTouch Network. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the United States Military Academy in 1987 and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School in 2007. He is engaged, and has four children and six grandchildren.