This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 29, 2010 - WASHINGTON - St. Louisan Ann Wagner -- a former U.S. ambassador, the Missouri GOP's first woman chair, and a former state chair of a presidential re-election campaign -- announced Monday that she is seeking to add yet another title to her impressive resume: the chair of the Republican National Committee.
Announcing her candidacy with messages to the 168 voting members of the RNC, a YouTube video, an "Ann Wagner for RNC Chairman" website (which includes the video and her agenda) and Twitter messages, Wagner stopped short of directly criticizing incumbent RNC chair Michael Steele by name -- but she was clear in calling for new directions for the national committee.
The RNC is currently in debt -- perhaps by as much as $20 million -- after helping finance the party's contributions to the Nov. 2 election campaigns. Many Republicans have been upset with Steele's style of running the RNC, but they also were heartened by the GOP's stunning victory this month in taking over control of the U.S. House and making significant inroads in the Senate.
In her video, Wagner said, "The RNC needs to be funded to its maximum obligations. We must be efficient, relevant, professional and credible." She added that the RNC "must start immediately to erase past debt and to restore the confidence of our donor base. We must have these resources in order to take back the White House and complete the job that was started this year."
Wagner will focus entirely on the RNC run "from now until the vote in mid-January, and will be a full-time chairman if elected," said Wagner's RNC campaign spokesman, St. Louis-based GOP political strategist John Hancock. But if she is not elected RNC chair, Wagner "would be open to other opportunities," Hancock told the Beacon.
Wagner has been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate to run against U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., in 2012.
Wagner, who chaired Sen.-elect Roy Blunt's successful run for the Senate this year, is viewed as a potential heavyweight candidate for the RNC post. The only other candidate who has officially entered the race is former Michigan GOP chairman Saul Anuzis. However, several other potential candidates are waiting in the wings, perhaps wanting to see if Steele will run again. Those include Wisconsin's Republican chairman, Reince Priebus, former RNC official Maria Cino -- both of whom appeared to be leaning toward running -- as well as others, such as California GOP chair Ron Nehring, former RNC chairman Mike Duncan and Connecticut GOP Chairman Chris Healy.
Prominent Missouri Republicans spoke highly of Wagner.
Blunt said in a statement that "Ann Wagner would be a great Republican National Committee chair. She has done everything at the party level from precinct captain to national co-chair, and Ann has been a winner at all of those levels. She was a significant part of making the Missouri General Assembly Republican for the first time in half a century. She has good political instincts and always does whatever it takes. Ann will raise the money; she will be a full-time chairman."
U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., said Wagner "would be a great voice for our party." He said in a statement to the Beacon that he regarded Wagner as a trusted friend and admired her as an accomplished colleague from Missouri.
"Ann served our country as ambassador, was a great leader for the state GOP in Missouri," said Bond, adding that she had "moved the Republican platform forward during her time at the RNC."
U.S. Rep. JoAnn Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, said, "In Missouri and nationally, Ann Wagner is known to be a smart, strategic political mind who understands the essential elements of winning campaigns. She is a natural leader, and it is wonderful to add her to the conversation about the direction our Republican party will take in the next two years."
Wagner, 48, has not run for office but has a long political resume.
Then-Gov. John Ashcroft enlisted her in 1990 to help with the redistricting process and Wagner became state director of President George H.W. Bush's re-election campaign in 1992. A forceful Republican advocate, Wagner became the Missouri Republican Party's first woman chairman in 1999. Two years later, she rose to become co-chair of the Republican National Committee and she presided over the 2004 presidential convention. In 2006, President George W. Bush nominated Wagner to be the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg, a post she held until last year, when the Obama administration named a replacement.
The RNC's 168 members will choose their new chairman in mid-January for a two-year term. Each state and federal territory has three seats on the committee, one of which is reserved for a woman -- which gives female candidates a natural constituency in running.
In her video, Wagner called for "greater transparency and accountability when it comes to the RNC's budget and expenditures. As a former co-chairman and member, I know how important it is for the RNC membership to be fully informed and engaged." At the same time, she said, the RNC should get "back to basics" and field a grassroots program that works closely with state parties and aggressively funds state programs.
"In Missouri, I have been at the very center of the effort to turn a battleground state into a reliably red state," Wagner said in the video. "When I chaired the Missouri Republican Party, we took control of both houses of our General Assembly for the first time in 50 years. We've grown from holding three of nine congressional districts to holding six of nine today."