Daniel Wolfram
The local lawmaker insists that he is not moving to Thailand if he gets reelected. His opponent is not so sure about that.
As the midterm elections are nearing, many of the races for the Senate and the House of Representatives are getting nationwide attention.
But there are also smaller races for local state representative positions all over America.
One of them is in St. Louis, Missouri, where a lawmaker is seeking to get elected in one of the local counties. There is just one problem: His entire family has moved to Thailand.
Moving overseas to Thailand
State Representative Mark Matthiesen is preparing for reelection next week, but he is doing so without his immediate family there to support him. They have all moved to Asia.
His wife, an intensive care unit nurse, was apparently worn down by her work in the States and wanted a “massive change” in her life. That choice led the family to pack up and move to Thailand.
Matthiesen still claims that he will stay in O’Fallon, a city located in St. Charles County. “I have done everything I can to support her,” the three-term lawmaker told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch when he answered the phone call from his family’s new home in Thailand.
Downsizing at home while the family relocates
Over the summer, Matthiesen flew out to help them settle in and enrolled their teenage son in an English-speaking high school.
Back in Missouri, he rented out their four-bedroom house and chose to downsize to a smaller apartment. The change of scenery has been paramount for his family. As for Matthiesen, he expects to visit Thailand for at least seven weeks each year.
“I have been on vacation to Thailand multiple times,” Matthiesen said. “It is a beautiful country.” He returns this week for the final stretch of campaigning before the election.
Criticism from his challenger
Matthiesen faces Democratic challenger Gary Wester, a retired pharmaceutical chemist whom he defeated by roughly 4,000 votes back in 2024.
Despite now engaging in a long-distance marriage and being absent from his son, Matthiesen insists he will not step down if voters reelect him. “Why would I do that? I’ve worked so hard for so long,” he said.
Gary Wester has a different outlook on Matthiesen’s peculiar family situation. He told the Post-Dispatch that local residents are deeply anxious about whether Matthiesen truly lives in the community or even the country.
Leaving an office empty carries real risks in Missouri, where six legislative seats have sat vacant for months. If Matthiesen steps aside later, O’Fallon could face an endless wait for a special election. “People who knew about the family’s move to Thailand are concerned the same thing is going to happen here, if he wins,” Wester warned.
