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Ann Wagner (Campaign photo)

— Mid-February is always an important time for former ambassador Ann Wagner. It is the time of her anniversary with her husband Ray (25 years this weekend), and it is also, almost always, the start of a busy political season.

She attended her first statewide Lincoln Days in the late 1980’s. More than two decades later, after serving in Republican party leadership during successful legislative, congressional, and presidential campaigns, Wagner attended her first Lincoln Days as a candidate last weekend in Kansas City.

Last year, Wagner announced she would run for congress in the Second Congressional District to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Todd Akin. She had one opponent at the time, St. Louis attorney Ed Martin.

“We worked really hard and we’ve been running since April 26,” Wagner said in an interview with PoliticMo on Saturday. “We have been driving a freight train and working hard on all fronts, mainly the grassroots,”.

Six months after her announcement, Martin left the primary to run for attorney general, and Wagner’s path to victory certainly eased, but Wagner said she knows it is not a done deal.

First, she has to win her party’s nomination. She is now being challenged by St. Louis doctor Randy Jotte, whose effort at minimum will be a headache for the Wagner team. And there’s a possibility that someone else could jump in the race before filing closes on March 27.

Wagner has gained support from national Republicans, in part because of her ability to raise significant campaign cash. According to her most recent report to the Federal Election Commission, Wagner has raised more than $1.3 million for her campaign.

“I’m going to take nothing for granted, and I’m going to run 110 percent, like we’re running from behind until after we enter those benchmarks,” Wagner said in an interview with PoliticMo. “ I wanted to raise the resources, do the grassroots work, and also line up people of good stature, good conservatives, that were willing to give testimony.”

Second, depending on what the Missouri Supreme Court decides on a case challenging the new congressional districts, U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D., may end up running against Wagner in the Second Congressional District, posing a potentially well funded challenge to Wagner.

Wagner said she supports the new map, as it is, that does not split the city of St. Louis. Carnahan has said he will run where he lives. But if he decided to run in the Second Congressional District, Wagner said she will be ready.

“I would welcome Russ Canrahan into the race in Missouri’s second district,” she said with a grin.

But if he doesn’t, and opts to challenge U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay for the Democratic nomination in the First Congressional Di strict, Wagner, in the Republican-friendly second district might end with some extra time on her hands.

“I hope I’ll be in a position to help the party and to help the entire ticket,” she said.

Wagner said if elected, she would take a stand against the increasing national debt and federal spending, and would not rule out considering a leadership bid, on down the road.

“I’m not going to Congress to take up space: I want to be effective and I want to get something done,” Wagner said. “To the extent that I can be an effective member of Congress, I absolutely want to.”

“That’s up to the people of the Second District,” she added.