The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) included state Sen. Jill Schupp, who is challenging Republican Congresswoman Ann Wagner, in its first batch of Red to Blue program candidates.
The inclusion in the program comes with fundraising and organizational help — among other support — from the campaign arm in an effort to flip U.S. House seats.
“A fierce advocate for Missouri’s families, Jill Schupp will bring her proven record as a problem solver and consensus builder to Congress to address the issues facing her community, like lowering the cost of prescription drugs and making sure our schools are safe,” DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos said in a statement Tuesday. “With deep roots in suburban St. Louis, momentum and enthusiasm are on Jill’s side. I am confident she is on the path to flip this seat in November.”
Schupp has represented SD 24, which includes St. Louis County, since 2014. Term limits prevent her from re-election to the seat again. Prior to her time in the Senate, Schupp served as a state representative and on the Ladue School Board and Creve Coeur City Council. She is also a former elementary school teacher.
“It’s clear that Missourians are ready for new representation in Washington,” Schupp said on social media in acknowledging the DCCC recognition. “With your support, I know that we can build a winning campaign that will flip [the seat] this year.”
Wagner, a former U.S. ambassador and chair of the Missouri Republican Party, has represented the 2nd district since 2013. She defeated Democratic candidate Cort VanOstran by about 4 percentage points in the 2018 midterm elections.
Aside from Schupp, the DCCC named several other candidates to the Red to Blue program Tuesday. Those candidates are: Hiral Tipirneni in Arizona, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan in Illinois, Dan Feehan in Minnesota, Gina Ortiz Jones in Texas, Carolyn Long in Washington, Christina Hale in Indiana, Rita Hart in Iowa, Jackie Gordon in New York, Wendy Davis in Texas, Christy Smith in California, and Eugene DePasquale in Pennsylvania.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn was the editor in chief of The Missouri Times from 2020-2022. She joined the newspaper in early 2019 after working as a reporter for Fox News in New York City.
Throughout her career, Kaitlyn has covered political campaigns across the U.S., including the 2016 presidential election, and humanitarian aid efforts in Africa and the Middle East.
She is a native of Missouri who studied journalism at Winthrop University in South Carolina. She is also an alumna of the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
Contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@themissouritimes.com.
