Vicky Hartzler
Vicky Hartzler | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 4th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2011 | |
Preceded by | Ike Skelton |
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 124th district | |
In office 1995–2000 | |
Preceded by | Gene Olson |
Succeeded by | Rex Rector |
Personal details | |
Born |
Archie, Missouri, U.S. | October 13, 1960
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Lowell Hartzler |
Alma mater |
University of Missouri, Columbia (BS) University of Central Missouri (MS) |
Vicky Jo Hartzler[1] (née Zellmer; October 13, 1960) is an American politician who currently serves as the incumbent U.S. Representative for Missouri's 4th congressional district. The district comprises a large swath of the western-central part of the state, anchored in Columbia to the eastern and southern Kansas City suburbs. The district also includes the cities of Sedalia, Warrensburg, Moberly, and Lebanon. The district takes in Ft. Leonard Wood in Pulaski County, Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster, and the University of Missouri (Mizzou).
Prior to her election to Congress, Hartzler represented District 124 in the Missouri House of Representatives from 1995 to 2000.[2]
Early life
Hartzler was raised on a farm near Archie, a rural community south of Kansas City. She attended the University of Missouri where she graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Education, and attended University of Central Missouri where she graduated with an M.S. in Education.
Missouri Legislature
Before running for State Representative in 1994, Hartzler taught high school home economics (now commonly referred to as family and consumer sciences) for 11 years.[3] Her accomplishments included leadership on legislation facilitating the adoption process. Hartzler left the Missouri House of Representatives in 2000 after adopting a baby daughter.
In 2004, after she had left the Missouri General Assembly, Hartzler served as state spokeswoman for the Coalition to Protect Marriage,[4] which supported banning marriage equality. Despite Hartzler's fierce opposition to the Missouri Assembly's ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment[5] ("I don't want women used to pass a liberal agenda"), former Republican Governor Matt Blunt appointed Hartzler Chair of the Missouri Women's Council in 2005, where she served for two years.[6]
U.S. House of Representatives
2010
After almost a decade out of politics, Hartzler entered the Republican primary for Missouri's 4th congressional district, which at the time was held by 17-term Democratic incumbent Ike Skelton. She won a crowded seven-way primary with 40 percent of the vote.
In the November 2, 2010 general election, Hartzler won with 50.43% of the vote. She is the first Republican to represent this district since 1955, and only the second since the Great Depression. She was also the second Republican woman elected to Congress from Missouri, after Jo Ann Emerson, with whom she served from 2011 to 2013. However, 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. Republicans had been making gains in the district for some time; it gave John McCain 62 percent of the vote in 2008 while simultaneously reelecting Democrat Skelton, and Republicans hold most of the district's seats in the state legislature.
She ran on a conservative platform, voicing support for tax cuts and spending cuts. She opposes abortion and same-sex marriage.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Vicky Hartzler | 113,489 | 50.43 | |
Democratic | Ike Skelton* | 101,532 | 45.11 | |
Libertarian | Jason Michael Braun | 6,123 | 2.72 | |
Constitution | Greg Cowan | 3,912 | 1.74 | |
2012
Redistricting after the 2010 U.S. Census removed Cole, Lafayette, Ray, Saline, part of Jackson and part of Webster counties from the district and added Boone, Cooper, Howard, Randolph, part of Audrain, and part of Cass counties, and altering the boundary within Camden County, which was already divided, taking out more of it.
Her first time running in the newly drawn district, Hartzler easily won the Republican primary with 84% against Bernie Mowinski and went on to comfortably win the general election with 60.3% against Democratic Cass County Prosecuting Attorney Teresa Hensley.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Vicky Hartzler | 192,237 | 60.32 | |
Democratic | Teresa Hensley | 113,120 | 35.49 | |
Libertarian | Thomas Holbrook | 10,407 | 3.27 | |
Constitution | Greg Cowan | 2,959 | 0.93 | |
2014
Hartzler won nearly 75% of the party vote in the Republican congressional primary with John Webb, then went on to easily win the general election with a more than two-to-one margin.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Vicky Hartzler | 120,014 | 68.08 | |
Democratic | Nate Irvin | 46,464 | 26.36 | |
Libertarian | Herschel L. Young | 9,793 | 5.56 | |
Write-in | Greg Cowan | 15 | 0.01 | |
Committee assignments
In October 2015, Hartzler was named to serve on the Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood.[7]
Caucuses
- Republican Study Committee
- Tea Party Caucus
- Congressional Cement Caucus
Positions
At a town hall meeting in Missouri on April 5, 2012, Hartzler expressed doubts regarding President Barack Obama's birth certificate.[8]
In September 2013, Hartzler voted in favor of a $39 billion reduction in SNAP Benefits (aka "food stamps"). This bill was separate from farm subsidies for the first time in over three decades, which were increased.[9] Hartzler is a direct recipient of farm subsidies, and has received over $800,000 to date.[10]
On November 18, 2014, during the worst early season cold snap in the U.S. since 1976, Hartzler made a joke about climate change on Twitter. "Global warming strikes America! Brrrr!"[11] Her humorous quip was taken seriously and rebutted in detail by The Washington Post, which used data to demonstrate that her district in Missouri is an area among the most severely impacted by climate change in the USA.[12]
Personal life
Hartzler lives on a farm near Harrisonville with her husband Lowell and their daughter.
Works
- Vicky Hartzler, Running God's Way, Pleasant Word (a division of WinePress Publishing; December 13, 2007); ISBN 978-1-4141-1124-7
References
- ↑ "Representative Vicky Jo Hartzler (Vicky) (R-Missouri, 4th) - Biography from LegiStorm". Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ↑ Former GOP lawmaker Hartzler wins 9-way contest, Associated Press (August 3, 2010)
- ↑ Purging the pain from political campaigns Murphree, Randall. OneNewsNow.com April 2008; accessed January 3, 2009
- ↑ Missouri Begins Vote on Same-sex 'Marriage' Ban Phan, Katherine. The Christian Post. August 03, 2004. Accessed January 3, 2009
- ↑ Lutz, Jennifer. "ERA supporters, opponents speak out". Missouri Digital News. Retrieved 23 February 2000. Check date values in:
|access-date=
(help) - ↑ Former State Rep makes pitch to replace Ike Skelton in Congress September 2, 2009; accessed January 3, 2010
- ↑ Paul Kane (October 23, 2015). "Boehner's next select committee, focusing on Planned Parenthood, to be led by Marsha Blackburn". Washington Post. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
- ↑ Celock, John (April 6, 2012). "Obama Birth Certificate: Missouri Congresswoman Vicki Hartzler Expresses Doubt". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
- ↑ "How Republicans Justify Cutting Food Stamps While Boosting Farm Subsidies". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Hartzler Farms received federal subsidies last year". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
- ↑ "Global warming strikes America! Brrrr!". Twitter. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler wonders why it's so cold if global warming exists. Here's the answer.". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
External links
- Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler official U.S. House site
- Vicky Hartzler for Congress
- Vicky Hartzler at DMOZ
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Project Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
United States House of Representatives | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Ike Skelton |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 4th congressional district 2011–present |
Incumbent |
United States order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
Preceded by Andrew Harris |
United States Representatives by seniority 253rd |
Succeeded by Joe Heck |