Vicky Hartzler

She is the first Republican to represent the district since 1955, and only the second since the Great Depression.

Vicky Jo Hartzler (née Zellmer; born October 13, 1960) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for MO's 4th congressional district from 2011 to 2023.

Before running for state representative in 1994, Hartzler taught high school home economics for 11 years.

A member of the Republican Party, she served as the Missouri state representative for the 124th district from 1995 to 2001.

Hartzler's district comprised a large swath of western-central Missouri, anchored in Columbia and stretching to the eastern and southern Kansas City suburbs, including a sliver of Kansas City.

The district also included Sedalia, Warrensburg, Moberly, and Lebanon.

Hartzler was a candidate in the 2022 United States Senate election in Missouri, but lost the Republican primary to Eric Schmitt.

Hartzler was raised on a farm near Archie, a rural community south of Kansas City.

She graduated from Archie High School and later attended the University of Missouri, where she graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in education, and the University of Central Missouri, where she graduated with an M.S. in education.

She left the Missouri House of Representatives in 2000 after adopting a baby daughter.

In 2000, Hartzler opposed the Missouri Assembly's ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and led a group of legislators in a rally against the ERA, saying she didn't "want women used to pass a liberal agenda".

In 2004, Hartzler served as state spokeswoman for the Coalition to Protect Marriage, which supported banning same-sex marriage in Missouri.

In 2005, Governor Matt Blunt appointed Hartzler chair of the Missouri Women's Council, where she served for two years.

Republicans had been making gains in the district for some time; it gave John McCain 62% of the vote in 2008 while simultaneously reelecting Skelton, and Republicans hold most of the district's seats in the state legislature.

While Skelton more than held his own in the areas of the district closer to Kansas City, Hartzler swamped him in the more rural areas, including areas that had supported him for over 30 years.

Hartzler ran on a conservative platform, voicing support for tax cuts and spending cuts.

She opposes abortion and same-sex marriage.

During her first term, Hartzler represented a district that stretched as far east as the state capital, Jefferson City, and as far west as exurban areas of Jackson County.

Redistricting after the 2010 U.S. Census removed Cole, Lafayette, Ray and Saline counties—including Skelton's home.

The district also lost its shares of Jackson and Webster counties.

In its place, the district picked up all of Boone, Cooper, Howard, and Randolph counties, part of Audrain County, and the remainder of Cass County.

The district now includes Cass County's portion of Kansas City.

She was also the second Republican woman elected to Congress from Missouri, after Jo Ann Emerson, with whom she served from 2011 to 2013.

She is the first who was not elected as a stand-in for her husband; Emerson was originally elected to serve out the final term of her late husband, Bill Emerson.

At a town hall meeting in Missouri on April 5, 2012, Hartzler expressed doubts about President Barack Obama's birth certificate.

In her first contest in the newly drawn district, Hartzler easily won the Republican primary with 84% of the vote against Bernie Mowinski and went on to win the general election with 60.3% against the Democratic nominee, Cass County Prosecuting Attorney Teresa Hensley.

Hartzler won nearly 75% of the vote in the Republican primary against John Webb, then won the general election by a more than two-to-one margin.

Hartzler won 72% of the vote in the Republican primary against John Webb, then won the general election by a more than two-to-one margin.

Hartzler opposes abortion.

She has sponsored legislation in an effort to block taxpayer dollars from funding clinics that offer abortion services, such as Planned Parenthood, as well as legislation such as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

In September 2013, Hartzler voted for a $39 billion reduction in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which was separated from legislation to increase farm subsidies for the first time in over three decades.

In October 2015, Hartzler was on the Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood.

After almost a decade out of politics, Hartzler entered the Republican primary for MO's 4th congressional district, which at the time was held by 17-term Democratic incumbent Ike Skelton.

She won a seven-way primary with 40% of the vote.

Hartzler won the November 2 general election with 50.43% of the vote.

As a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, Hartzler served as a conferee to pass the final version of the Farm Bill in 2018.

Hartzler did not vote on the measure to pass the Farm Bill due to her father passing away in December 2018.

President Donald Trump signed the final version of the Farm Bill in December 2018.

Hartzler has supported investment in rural broadband, which falls under the jurisdiction of the House Agriculture Committee.

She successfully led provisions Trump signed into law to increase private investment in rural broadband, modifying Rural Utilities Service broadband programs to include loan guarantees in addition to existing direct loans.