By Bill McClellan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Nov. 23–Monday night’s candidate forum at Culpeppers in O’Fallon, Mo., was more Norman Rockwell than Andy Warhol. It was small town Americana — a gathering of churchgoing people who aren’t ashamed to mix faith and politics.

If the whole thing had a white-bread, 1950s feel, so what? Those were good days. America was a colossus. Young men were well-groomed, and young women were chaste.

One of the questions Monday night was about teaching abstinence to today’s students. Ann Wagner was definitely in favor of that. Abstinence is something we have to lift up, she said.

She was, as usual, well-coiffed and tastefully attired. She wore a jacket, skirt and pearls. She is attractive without being gaudy. She went to college on scholarship for vocal performance and then majored in business. Think of June Cleaver with ambition.

She is running in the Republican primary for Congress in Missouri’s 2nd District. Her opponent is Ed Martin. He wore a dark blue suit, a light blue shirt and a red tie.

He is experienced in the give-and-take of debates and forums. He has been running for Congress for two election cycles.

He ran a long and fierce campaign against incumbent Russ Carnahan in the 3rd District, and after coming agonizingly close to an upset, he announced his intention to run for U.S. Senate. When Congressman Todd Akin announced his intention to run for Senate, Martin decided to seek Akin’s seat.

So did Wagner, who was also mentioned as a potential senatorial candidate until Akin’s announcement.

Wagner is the favorite. She is the former co-chair of the Republican National Committee, the former chair of the Missouri Republican Party and the former ambassador to Luxembourg. She headed Roy Blunt’s successful senatorial campaign a couple of years ago.

She has raised more money and has more endorsements.

She also has people like Bridget McCormick and Jennifer Gravette. They’re not political. They know Wagner from St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church in Ellisville. Their stories are about choir and soccer games.

They were at Culpeppers on Monday night but didn’t go into the room where the forum was held. It isn’t as if they need to know Wagner’s positions on the issues. They know her.

Wagner has raised three kids in the 2nd District. The oldest just graduated from West Point. The youngest is a junior at Ursuline Academy.

Martin has three kids, too, and a fourth on the way, but his kids are young. He does not yet have soccer connections. That is a huge handicap.

He is a good speaker — better than Wagner — but she is good enough that he will have a hard time peeling away any of her supporters. Certainly, he will not outflank her on the right.

Both are fervently pro-life. Both oppose embryonic stem cell research. Both oppose everything Obama.

Any of our candidates would be better than Obama, Wagner said.

Both embrace the Second Amendment. Martin told the audience that he has his concealed-carry permit. Wagner told them, “At our house, guns are us.”

The audience liked that a lot.

By the way, state Sen. Jane Cunningham was in the audience. She would have been a formidable opponent had she made this race. She knows how to win. Neither Wagner nor Martin can claim that.

Of course, the Democratic candidate will probably be in the same boat. Two years ago, Arthur Lieber ran only because nobody else had filed. He ran a whimsical race. He said he did not want to raise money, and in that regard, he was very successful.

Whoever runs as a Democrat will be running uphill.

He or she had better remember that this is the 2nd District. The jukebox is filled with stuff from the ’50s.

An updated June Cleaver will be tough to beat. Throw in a little Annie Oakley. “At our house, guns are us.” How do you top that?

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