Fred Wellman
August 13, 2026 · Newsletter
There is no more wiggle room for anyone
Human stories vs. data
I’ve been running for Congress now for over 9 months and won my primary last Tuesday. The thing that has kept me going is talking with real Missourians about their struggles and hopes for change. Again and again I hear from people from all walks of life how they and their families are simply at the financial breaking point and see no relief coming.
All we are getting from the Trump Administration and Republican Doormat Congress is lies that everything is fine.
Polls and data can tell one part of this story. We have seen that data. We know that the top 20% now account for 59% of all consumer spending. That same “top 20% own roughly 90% of all corporate equities.” We have a true K-shaped economy with the wealth gap only growing by the day. There is no denying that the rich are getting richer and the rest are barely making ends meet.
Those stats and articles are being all but ignored by those in power. Over and over they are telling us that everything is great. Fox News and Republican leaders are telling us that we are making it up or you’ve got people like Rep. Troy Nehls saying Americans should work harder like him, or Rep. Dan Crenshaw telling people to stop complaining and eat ramen like he did before he was a multi-millionaire.
Out here in the real world people are scared. I know. They are telling me.
Grocery store checkouts are heartbreaking
A few weeks ago I was heading out to the very far western edge of my district. On the way I stopped for a drink and snack a medium sized small town grocery store. It wasn’t very busy at that early hour so I ended up chatting up the checkout crew of a young woman in her twenties and a lady about my age.
They quickly figured out I was a Democratic candidate and made the usual face that many Republican voters make. We had a good laugh about it and then I started asking them about life in New Haven. I asked them how often someone comes up to their line and looks at the cart and has to put stuff back.
Every single day.
It wasn’t rare at all. It was daily. They saw the struggle in their neighbors eyes. That look of doubt wondering if the credit card limit has been reached or the debit card swipe will fail. The embarrassing decision to put stuff back that you simply can’t afford that day.
The look in kids eyes as they watch it unfold and knowing they are going to eat less this week. The shame in the parents eyes as they have to admit they simply can’t buy whatever they need.
The struggle for working people is not slowing down.
My kids can’t live here
I’ve heard it from the beginning. When I first decided to run I reached out to a number of our local elected leaders to get their perspective on the district, their constituents, and the issues we faced. Over and over the drumbeat was, “my kids can’t afford to live here,” or, they can’t afford to leave. At every income level and every corner of the region.
We have a crisis and we can’t just sit back and deny it any longer. It was reported last month that for the first time in history minimum wage will not cover the average apartment rent in any state in the union. We have credible reports that the AI wave will eliminate over 300,000 jobs mostly held by women and minorities just in the next four years.
When we held a town hall with the University of Missouri College Democrats several months ago the ONLY questions I got from students were about their economic futures. I came ready to talk about war crimes in Gaza, the LGTBQ community, ICE and more…but these kids are absolutely laid out with anxiety on whether they will have jobs waiting for them and even able to live on their own.
Stop the bleeding
It is not good enough to just act like everything is fine. It is also not good enough to say we will be studying it and looking at ways to make it better. I am calling myself a “Day One Democrat” because it’s my promise to go to Washington D.C. and get stuff done on DAY ONE. We will field bills and work with my colleagues to get stuff done immediately.
Take control of the tariffs
Cancel Donald Trump’s National Emergency on Trade
Roll back the Big Billionaire Bill, it’s cuts to SNAP, Medicare and Medicaid
Reinstate the ACA subsidies
End this outrageous and illegal war with Iran
Stop the absolutely insane corruption of this Administration using our Treasury like a personal piggy bank for Trump and his conspirators
Immediately vote on the bans on stock trading (all of it not just individual companies), crypto trading, and most emphatically any use of prediction markets by government officials and their families
I was a soldier. When you see a wounded warrior bleeding out you don’t tell them it will be fine when we get them to the Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. You stop the bleeding. You bind their wounds. The big stuff will come later.
We have incredible plans for big stuff from healthcare to affordable housing. Right now…we need to stop the bleeding before it’s too late.
Our kids…and we…can’t wait. The status quo will no longer work. We need to send people to Washington willing to break things and make them better the day they hit the ground.
I am one of them.
Note from Fred:
Thank you to all of you that have donated to my campaign, volunteered your time, and voted for me. We won our primary last week and it’s been breakneck ever since. As of today we have just 82 days until the General Election and I can hear that clock ticking every minute of the day. I promise to keep hustling and doing the work to take back this seat.
Many of you have asked if I am continuing my show on MeidasTouch…I am. It is still how I earn a living, along with this outlet, so I don’t use a penny of your campaign donations to fund my life. Every dollar goes to winning this race. Thank you for your support of all of my endeavors.
I’m not done yet.
Fred
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