Former Missouri state chairman Ann Wagner officially joined the field of candidates vying to become the RNC’s chairman on Monday, and talked to FrumForum about her political experience, her support on the Committee, and the possibility of being the first female chair since 1977.
Wagner started in politics as a Lafayette Township committeewoman. But she really cut her political teeth working on redistricting in 1990, before joining the Bush-Quayle campaign and later the John Ashcroft for Senate bid.
Wagner chaired the Missouri GOP for six years, and was co-chairman of the RNC for four of those years. During her tenure, Missouri’s state house and senate were taken over by Republicans for the first time in forty years. In 2005, President George W. Bush appointed her to be Ambassador to Luxembourg.
Upon returning she decided to chair Senator-elect Roy Blunt’s campaign, starting in 2009. “I wasn’t back from Europe for more than a couple of months… and I had the feeling that socialism had followed me back home, across the pond,” she said. Blunt went on to win by fourteen percent.
Despite this, she claims that the RNC didn’t do much to help them win:
While I was chairing the campaign, the RNC that I saw wasn’t supporting the states… to the level that they needed to be. I went to D.C., and even met with Chairman Steele and others, but at the end of the day… it was really a lot of independent expenditures and other committees that are inefficient and we shouldn’t have to go through [those] going into a presidential cycle.
Her agenda, posted on her website, includes developing a mandatory code of ethics for all RNC staff, an annual audit to be made available to each members of the RNC, the replacement of the 72 hour program and the institution of new controls on expenses.
Many of the advantages that Wagner claims are also veiled criticisms of incumbent Chairman Michael Steele. ?“I’m going to be a full-time chairman, who doesn’t take outside money of any sort. I also… won’t take fees for books or outside speaking,” Wagner told FrumForum. Chairman Steele has been criticized for taking speaking fees and putting out a book while Chairman.
The RNC has never elected a woman to be chair – Mary Louise Smith was appointed by President Ford in 1974 – but this year two competitive female candidates are jockeying for position: Wagner and 2008 Republican Convention organizer Maria Cino.
“It’s certainly been well over a generation since we’ve had a woman [as RNC Chairman]… if you look at our electorate out there, women make up a majority of the electorate… I think a suburban, mother of three from a battleground state who knows how to win elections might be a great fit,” said Wagner.
It is unclear how much support Wagner has on the Committee, of which she was a member from 1999 to 2005. “I would say there is… 25-30% of the Committee that I know from before,” says Wagner. She tells FrumForum that she has reached out to all of the RNC’s 168 members by email and has made calls to about two-thirds.? “Many new faces, but I’m not shy the least bit about reaching out and talking about my plans going forward. I hope they still see me as one of them – I feel very much associated with the Republican National Committee.”
Another important question is whether Wagner has close ties or preferences for potential 2012 presidential candidates. But as U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg from 2005 to 2009, Wagner says she was prohibited from engaging in partisan activities. “I’m a true honest broker, and can be, all across the board,” asserted Wagner. “I can be for all of them. I’m not tied to a specific presidential candidate.”
Watch for Tennessee National Committeeman John Ryder to be a crucial ally in her campaign. “John Ryder from Tennessee…was one of the first key folks to contact me and talk to me about considering going forward with a look at the chairmanship,” Wagner told FrumForum.
Wagner had been rumored to be interested in running against Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill in 2012, and kept the door open on a future bid should the RNC Chairman campaign not work out.
“I’m fully focused on being chairman of the Republican National Committee. That decision will be made on January 14th,” Wagner emphasized. “I would never close the door on an opportunity to serve my country or my state, but I am fully focused… on being the next chairman.”
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