Vicky Jo Hartzler (née Zellmer; born October 13, 1960) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the Missouri state representative for the 124th district from 1995 to 2000. 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 S. Schmitt. Early life and education 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. Missouri legislature Before running for state representative in 1994, Hartzler taught high school home economics for 11 years. She left the Missouri House of Representatives in 2000 after adopting a baby daughter. In 2004, Hartzler served as state spokeswoman for the Coalition to Protect Marriage, which supported banning same-sex marriage in Missouri. 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 2005, Governor Matt Blunt appointed Hartzler chair of the Missouri Women's Council, where she served for two years. U.S. House of Representatives Elections 2010 After almost a decade out of politics, Hartzler entered the Republican primary for , 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. She is the first Republican to represent the 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. 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