Fred Wellman
Retired Army aviator and 2026 Democratic nominee for Missouri's 2nd congressional district.
Fred Wellman, the Democratic Challenger in Missouri's 2nd District, saw his race against Ann Wagner tighten to Leans Republican on 29 September 2026 once the US Supreme Court kept the state's 2022 map in force.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for Fred Wellman
Gained a more competitive rating in MO-2
US Midterms 2026: Sabato's 11 moves include Kiggans's seatBackground
Fred Wellman is the Democratic nominee for Missouri's 2nd congressional district in 2026, after winning the party's August primary. He faces the Republican incumbent, Ann Wagner, on 3 November.
A West Point graduate, he served as an Army aviator, including in the 1991 Gulf War and on three tours in Iraq, according to his campaign, and retired as a lieutenant colonel. After the Army he founded ScoutComms, a communications firm that works with veterans and military-family organisations.
He runs as a veteran and businessman rather than a career politician, in a district whose boundaries were settled by the courts only weeks before the vote.
A court order improved Wellman's odds
The 2025 map would have made the 2nd district harder for any Democrat to win. the Supreme Court's September 2026 decision to keep Missouri on its 2022 lines removed that obstacle, leaving Wellman to fight Wagner on boundaries forecasters regard as more open.
Sabato's Crystal Ball moved the contest from Likely to Leans Republican on 29 September, part of a batch of 11 House races it shifted towards Democrats. For a Challenger facing an incumbent in office since 2013, the rating change is the clearest outside sign so FAR that the seat is in play before 3 November.
Who is Fred Wellman?
Did Fred Wellman win the Missouri primary?
Can Fred Wellman beat Ann Wagner?
