Fred Wellman explains the roadside campaign behind his House win

The MeidasTouch host and Missouri congressman-elect tells Ben Meiselas how he built his coalition, and what he thinks Congress owes the troops.

Channel: MeidasTouch Story of November 9, 2026Trari Newsroom

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Why this story? One of the most watched videos since yesterday, with 1,638,286 views.

🚨Trump PANICS as Meidas Host WINS HOUSE SEAT!!!

Rush-hour drivers became part of Fred Wellman's campaign audience. In his post-election interview with Ben Meiselas, the MeidasTouch host describes roadside rallies with flags and signs, one piece of the organizing effort he credits with flipping Missouri's 2nd Congressional District.

Wellman defeated Republican incumbent Ann Wagner, who has represented the district since 2013. Now the host of On Democracy is preparing to become a member of the institution he has spent so much time discussing. "It's been a weird ride," he tells Meiselas.

The interview drew about 1.6 million views since yesterday. Unlike the network's earlier post-election roundups of Fox News reactions, this conversation brings the result inside MeidasTouch itself: one of its own presenters is heading to Congress.

Wellman describes building a coalition that included immigrant communities and labor partners in a district centered on suburbs south and west of St. Louis. He walks through the margins his campaign needed, then argues that emphasizing community needs and refusing to target minority groups helped him win. That is his explanation for the result, rather than a claim the interview independently establishes.

The conversation becomes more pointed when he discusses congressional responsibility. Drawing on his background as an Army helicopter pilot, Wellman argues that lawmakers must scrutinize the war in Iran and exercise their oversight powers rather than defer to the executive branch. Harry Truman's wartime oversight work supplies his model for holding leadership accountable.

There is also a practical question for listeners: what happens to On Democracy? Wellman says he plans to return to the podcast after settling into Congress. Near the end, he rejects the idea that his job is simply to be one vote among hundreds. He frames it instead around the Missouri residents he will represent.

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More from MeidasTouchA video worth knowingSunshine calls for Wiles resignation in Fox election postmortemBen Meiselas contrasts demands for accountability with Sean Hannity's appeal to stop Republican finger-pointing.Channel: MeidasTouch · Story of November 9, 2026 Also in Political commentators and debateVideo taking off 10x its usual first dayHarry Sisson questions Trump's UFC press-briefing cartoonThe Short reacts to a Trump-shared animation in which Dana White takes the podium and fighters attack reporters.Channel: Harry Sisson · Story of November 9, 2026 A different discovery todayVideo taking off 12x its usual first dayKenan Thompson's Jeffries has a warning for Trump: "Knock it off, buster"SNL's post-midterm cold open crowds Trump, Vance, Hegseth and a real James Talarico into the Democrats' champagne party.Channel: Saturday Night Live · Story of November 9, 2026

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Fred Wellman explains the roadside campaign behind his House win The full story on Trari: https://trari.com/en/story/meidastouch-31654/?from=kit

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The numbers

The interview's audience was substantial, and its first-day comment section was three times as busy as usual for the channel's regular videos.

subscribers

6,500,000

▲ 10,000 in the last 7 days

total views

11,222,096,547

views per day

14,132,211

typical day: 8,527,875

the video

views

1,799,848

likes

79,521

comments

5,861

days online

1

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

Ben Shapiro

6,960,000

The Young Turks

6,760,000

Philip DeFranco

6,650,000

Russell Brand

6,610,000

MeidasTouch

6,500,000

Benny Johnson

6,110,000

As of November 9, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.