With the polls narrowing in Missouri's 2nd congressional district, Ann Wagner's first move was to release a lie-filled anti-trans attack ad. Her opponent Fred Wellman responded to those attacks this Sunday.
A survey conducted by GOP polling firm Remington Research Group shows incumbent Republican Rep. Ann Wagner in a statistical tie with her Democratic challenger, Fred Wellman.
According to the poll, 43% of voters favor Wagner, while 42% support Wellman. Twelve percent of respondents remain undecided.
Wellman is out with a new ad of his own going after Wagner for enriching herself while she's been in office instead of addressing the needs of her constituents.
📺 We’re on the air!
Check out our new TV ad running across #MO02 now. Watch, share, and help us spread the word today.#TeamWellman pic.twitter.com/DAIIW3eGWj— WellmanForMO (@WellmanForMO) September 26, 2026
Wellman was asked about the specifics in his ad as well, and hit Wagner for doing her best to divide us over an issue that only affects around 1% of the population in their district during an interview that aired Sunday on KSDK. Wellman also made it clear that he could walk and chew gum at the same time when it comes to potentially impeaching Trump and trying to make life better for his constituents.
MAXWELL: Let's talk about her ad. Her ad says that you want taxpayers to fund transgender medical care. You did say yes…
WELLMAN: No, no, her ad says transgender medical care on children.
MAXWELL: We'll get into all the specifics. You did say yes in May at a public forum while running for this office. When you said yes, what types of coverage did you have in mind, and for whom?
WELLMAN: If a family needs medical care and they're on Medicare or Medicaid and a doctor recommends medical care, it's not my job to tell them which one they should have. It's not their business. We have to get back to the point of independent rights. There's no place in the world where the government should be intervening between a family and their doctor, and again and again, it's about personal freedom. It's about families' right to choose their health care. It's about doctors' right to do their job. If they're on Medicare or Medicaid, then their insurance should cover that. I'm not talking about government going out. This is what makes me angry, though. In the end, we had to circle back to the issue. Ann Wagner's been in office for 14 years. She couldn't run on her record, so her very first paid ad of this election cycle was attacking me on an issue that affects less than 1% of her population.
MAXWELL: You take offense to her prioritizing that issue.
WELLMAN: I do.
MAXWELL: Let me ask you about one more claim in this ad, because it makes many claims. One of the claims is that you want transgender girls in girls' sports. True or false?
WELLMAN: That's not the issue. Again…
MAXWELL: Well, what is your position?
WELLMAN: Local... Look, there's rules for who can participate in sports.
MAXWELL: And you think those rules are fair?
WELLMAN: It's up to them to decide what's safe. Look, I understand that families want their children to be safe.
MAXWELL: [crosstalk] You opposed the ban.
WELLMAN: Yes.
MAXWELL: No ban means they play. True?
WELLMAN: Here's why I have a problem. Federal government or state government holding a special session of our legislature to address the fact that in the entire history of Missouri, less than 11 transgender people have tried to play sports. My daughter played men's rugby, men's lacrosse, right? Nobody had a problem with that because there was no girls' team. This is a ridiculous way to get us to fight each other over someone else's personal choices. Local school boards make that decision, again and again. They haven't even entertained this conversation.
MAXWELL: But you've made the point that Congress and national leaders should wade in and fight this. You've made that point several times online. You've called for congressional hearings. You've publicly scolded Democrats in your own party for not fighting states that enact these bans.
WELLMAN: Yes.
MAXWELL: So I want to ask you one last question about the ad, because the ad uses a loaded word. It uses the word "mutilating." I'll use the word in the law, which is just surgery. Missouri has already banned it for minors.
WELLMAN: Exactly.
MAXWELL: You fought that law, though. Should surgery be legal for minors?
WELLMAN: There is no surgery for minors. That's what enrages me about this issue, Mark. This is not a thing that occurs. This is a way to guide us to... Look, they have found a small population that they can openly hate. And it disgusts me. We should not be in the business as government deciding who or who should not have health care, who should or should not have a place. There is no room in a doctor's office for a lawyer, a politician, a pastor, or anyone else other than a doctor and their family. This is personal freedom run amok. What they're doing is... Yes, I want our Congress to fight back against taking away freedoms from families.
MAXWELL: In our last few seconds here, if you get to Congress in 2027, the last two years of Donald Trump's administration, impeach him or work with him?
WELLMAN: Our priority is, if we go to Congress and don't focus on making life better for Americans in every way we can, day one, we've got to stop stock trading by Congress, crypto trading, prediction markets, overseeing this government. If it means that an impeachment is part of that process, fine. But if we don't go to Washington, D.C., immediately and make life better for Americans, then all this is moot. Do you see what I'm saying? So if that's part of it, great, but I've heard loud and clear from my future constituents, they want me to go to D.C. and work on the affordability crisis, work on the health care crisis, work on the corruption. So that's what I'm going to do.
MAXWELL: Thank you for your time. Just a quick note for our viewers: we have invited Ann Wagner for equal time. That offer stands.
Wagner refused to be interviewed, just as she's refusing to debate, or hold a town hall. She's been hiding from all of her constituents, but she's got a ton of cash compared to him, so I guess she thinks she can just continue to hide and flood the airways with nasty ads.
Wellman, on the other hand, has been everywhere campaigning, going to union halls, town halls, parades, festivals, standing on street corners and knocking on doors, day after day, week after week. I guess we'll find out before long if lies and money can buy this race for Wagner, or if boots on the ground and talking to voters matters.
