Vicky Hartzler

Vicky Jo Hartzler (née Zellmer, October 13, 1960) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Missouri's 4th congressional district since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the Missouri State Representative for the 124th district from 1995 to 2000.

Her congressional district comprises a large swath of the western-central part of the state, anchored in Columbia and stretching to the eastern and southern Kansas City suburbs, including a small portion of Kansas City itself. The district also includes the cities of Sedalia, Warrensburg, Moberly and Lebanon. It takes in Ft. Leonard Wood in Pulaski County, Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster, as well as the University of Missouri (Mizzou).

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.

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.

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, which supported banning same-sex marriages in Missouri. Despite her opposition to the Missouri Assembly's ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment ("I don't want women used to pass a liberal agenda"), Republican Governor Matt Blunt appointed Hartzler Chair of the Missouri Women's Council in 2005, where she served for two years.

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 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 Skelton, and Republicans hold most of the district's seats in the state legislature. She won primarily by running up her totals in the more rural areas of the sprawling district.

She ran on a conservative platform, voicing support for tax cuts and spending cuts. She opposes abortion and same-sex marriage.

2012

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 the Cass County portion of Kansas City. The new map also pushed the district further into Camden County.

In her first contest 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.

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.

2016

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

2018

Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri District 4

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture
  • United States House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition
  • United States House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture
• Committee on Armed Services
  • United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
  • Chairwoman of Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
  • Subcommittee on Seapower and projections Forces
  • Subcommittee on Readiness

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

Caucuses

• Republican Study Committee
• Tea Party Caucus
• Congressional Cement Caucus
• Veterinary Medicine Caucus
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus

Controversies

Hartzler is facing a complaint that she violated congressional ethics rules by tweeting an image from her Congressional account promoting Case IH’s products, which are manufactured by Hartzler’s personal business, Heartland Tractor Company.

Abortion

Hartzler is an outspoken opponent of abortion. In January 2020, it was reported that Hartzler is one of 207 members of congress that asked SCOTUS to consider overruling Roe V. Wade.

LGBT rights

Hartzler strongly opposes same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships. She also opposes banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2019, Hartzler expressed her strong opposition to the Equality Act. She also opposes allowing transgender individuals to serve in the military.Hartzler opposes transsexualism.

Military

On June 29, 2017 Hartzler opposed allowing transgender Americans to serve in the U.S. armed forces, and proposed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 to reverse an Obama-administration policy that allowed transgender Americans in the armed services. Hartzler's amendment was rejected in a 209-214 vote, but Trump subsequently announced that he would ban transgender people to serve in U.S. military; Hartzler said that she was "very pleased" with the decision.

Women

Hartzler voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

Barack Obama

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

Healthcare

Hartzler is a staunch opponent of the Affordable Care Act and a supporter of the American Health Care Act.

Agriculture

In September 2013, Hartzler voted in favor of a $39 billion reduction in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Benefits (aka "food stamps"). This bill was separate for the first time in over three decades from farm subsidies, which were increased. In 2018, Hartzler again supported a farm subsidy bill.

Environment

Hartzler rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. 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!" The quip was rebutted in detail by The Washington Post, which reported that her district in Missouri is among the areas most severely impacted by climate change in the United States.

She voted to approve the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline on the federally protected lands of Indigenous people.

Israel

In February 2016, during a trip to Israel, Hartzler voiced her support for the country and shared the belief that "our country has been blessed because we have been a blessing to Israel".

Immigration

In January 2017, Hartzler made a statement supporting President Donald J Trump's ban on immigrants from seven Muslim countries and halting the U.S. Refugee program for 120 days. In her statement, Hartzler drew equivalency between Trump's executive order and Obama's 2011 policy that slowed immigration from Iraq by saying they were "similar".

In February 2017, Hartzler supported Trump's rollback of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Guns

Hartzler opposes gun control and advocates for looser gun laws. She is a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment.

Hartzler lives on a farm near Harrisonville with her family. According to publicly available data reviewed by the Kansas City Star, Hartzler, with her family farm, has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of federal farm subsidies out of all members of Congress, receiving $995,498 between 1995 and 2016.

• Vicky Hartzler self-published the book Running God's Way, Pleasant Word (a division of the now defunct WinePress Publishing; December 13, 2007); ISBN 978-1-4141-1124-7