Spotlight on the MO 4th Congressional District

Missouri's 4th Congressional District is found in the west central region of the state. Sixty percent of the district is rural, yet much of Jefferson City, the state capital, and the eastern Kansas City suburbs are contained within the district’s borders. If there is a district that could be considered Republican leaning, this is it. In 2008, John McCain swept all 24 counties and attained 61% of the vote to Barack Obama’s 38%. George W. Bush won MO-04 by huge margins in 2000 and 2004. Yet entrenched Democrat Ike Skelton has occupied this seat since 1976 (the year Jimmy Carter was elected president!). Skelton has rarely faced a serious challenger in his seventeen elections, but this year may pan out to be different. Skelton serves as Chairman of the Armed Serves Committee at the pleasure of the liberal House leadership. In order to stay "on the team", his voting record of late has veered to the left and away from the interests of his constituency. This leaves him particularly vulnerable in this election cycle, which is proving to be anti-incumbent AND anti-liberal. A "herd" of ten Republicans has filed for the primary. The two frontrunners are Bill Stouffer, State Senate Republican Caucus Chair, Ex-School Board Member and Farmer, and Vicky Hartzler, Ex-State Rep., Religious Right Activist, Author and Ex-Teacher. To take back the House and keep it, the GOP HAS to be competitive in true red districts like this one.