About
Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) has represented Missouri’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2011 and ran for the Senate in 2022 but lost.
Prior to her years in Congress, Hartzler was a farmer and public school teacher who also served in the Missouri General Assembly from 1994–2000. She is an alumna of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a corporate-funded bill mill that generates conservative legislation at the state level. In 2000, she led the charge against Missouri’s state legislature ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment, insisting that she didn’t “want women used to pass a liberal agenda.”
In the House, Hartzler has served on the armed services and agriculture committees. She opposes access to abortion, and in 2013 voted to reduce benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously known as Food Stamps).
After the 2020 presidential election, Hartzler adhered to the GOP playbook by casting doubt on the legitimacy of the process, objecting to certifying the Electoral College win by President Biden, and voting against both impeaching Trump for inciting the mob and establishing a special House committee to investigate the insurrection, among other measures.
In 2022, Hartzler voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, and after she made a transphobic comment in February, Twitter suspended her account.
January 6, 2021
- Just hours after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, Hartzler joined 146 other congressional Republicans in refusing to certify Biden’s win of the 2020 presidential election.
- Hartzler voted against impeaching Trump for his role in instigating the attack on Congress and the Capitol, and fanning the flames once the riot broke out.
- Hartzler voted against establishing a House committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack.
The Big Lie
- On Dec. 10, 2020, Hartzler signed an amicus brief in a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the results of the presidential election in four swing states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
- Rather than distance herself from the Big Lie, Hartzler has largely built her Senate campaign on adherence to it, as have fellow Republicans running for office in Missouri, which overwhelmingly voted for Trump in both 2016 and 2020.