Wagner seeking reelection instead of Senate bid in Missouri

Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) is seeking reelection to her House seat instead of running for Senate in Missouri.

“I am running for re-election to Congress because Missourians need a principled fighter who will hold the Biden administration accountable and stand up for what we believe and hold dear to our hearts,” Wagner wrote in an op-ed in The Missouri Times on Tuesday.

Wagner, who has been in Congress for eight years, currently serves as vice ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs and Financial Services committees.

“Being your congresswoman has never been a job for me; it is a calling. The work I do in Congress — from putting forward legislation to protect our values to ensuring the veterans and every single person I represent in the St. Louis area receive the benefits they have earned to working with business and industry to grow economic opportunity for future generations — the 2nd congressional district is personal to me and my family. It is home,” Wagner said.

The decision comes after Wagner weighed running for the open Senate seat in 2022, saying earlier this year that it would be a “great honor” to work in another role to “fight back on this Biden agenda and get something done for Missouri.”

In her op-ed, Wagner went after Democrats, asserting they “don’t respect our conservative Missouri values.”

She focused on what she called a failure to secure the border, not supporting anti-abortion legislation and promoting policies on China that she deemed weak.

“We must get back to advancing policies that reward hard work, reduce government overreach, and allow our businesses to innovate and thrive,” Wagner wrote.

“Nancy Pelosi and the radical Left don’t want to hear this, but I am a woman, wife, mother, grandmother, and a fighter. I’ll always fight to protect our conservative values, and I’m asking you for the honor and privilege to continue serving you in Congress,” she concluded.