Missouri's 4th congressional district
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Mark Alford R–Lake Winnebago
Population (2024)	784,156
Median household income	$68,144[1]
Ethnicity	83.3%White 5.4%Two or more races 4.8%Hispanic 4.3%Black 1.1%Asian 1.0% other
Cook PVI	R+21[2]

Missouri's 4th congressional district comprises west-central Missouri. It stretches from the northern half ofColumbia to the southern and eastern suburbs ofKansas City, including a sliver of Kansas City inCass County and parts ofBlue Springs inJackson County. It also includes the portion ofColumbia north ofInterstate 70, home to theUniversity of Missouri (but not the university itself).

The district is predominantlyrural and relativelyconservative;Donald Trump defeatedKamala Harris 71% to 28% in the2024 election and defeatedJoe Biden 69% to 29% in the2020 election.^[3] The district is currently represented byRepublicanMark Alford, a former reporter forWDAF-TV, the city's Fox affiliate.

This district had historically been a Democratic Party stronghold. Antipathy to theRepublican Party had its origins in theAmerican Civil War and the infamousGeneral Order 11. The Union Army ordered evacuation of the county in an attempt to reduce support for and the power ofbushwhacker guerrillas. After the Civil War, there wasdisfranchisement of white males (mostly Democrats) who had been active for the Confederacy until they took loyalty oaths, or until 1870. The area was filled with conflict between Missouri's Radicals, who joined the Republicans, and Conservatives, who were Democrats. By 1880 former secessionists dominated Missouri's congressional delegation and state legislature^{[citation needed]}.

Gradually this area developed a character similar toyellow dog Democrat districts in the South. Until 2010, only one Republican had been elected here since theGreat Depression, and only for one term. However, several demographic trends have converged to erode the Democratic base in this district. First, as theNew York Times election maps show, the predominantly rural counties lining the Missouri River have sharply trended Republican between the2000 Senate election and the2006 election, following trends across the South.^[4]

Secondly, population losses in Kansas City resulted in the 4th gradually losing much of its share of heavily DemocraticJackson County to the Kansas City-based5th district. Until 1983, the district stretched as far asIndependence on Kansas City's eastern border; as late as 1973 it included the eastern portion of Kansas City itself. To compensate for the loss of territory closer to Kansas City, large portions of heavily Republican Southwest Missouri were reassigned from the neighboring 7th district.^[5] The result of these trends resulted in a dramatic collapse of Democratic support in the district.Al Gore,John Kerry, andBarack Obama won less than 40% of the vote here. It ultimately presagedIke Skelton's defeat byVicky Hartzler in 2010. Since Skelton's defeat, no Democrat has managed even 40 percent of the vote.

Missouri's 4th congressional district includes all of 20 counties and portions of another 4 counties:Barton,Bates,Benton,Boone (parts),Camden (parts),Cass,Cedar,Dade,Dallas,Henry,Hickory,Howard,Jackson (parts),Johnson,Laclede,Lafayette,Morgan,Pettis,Polk,Pulaski,Saline,St. Clair,Vernon, andWebster (parts).^[6]

For the118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties, townships, and municipalities:^[8]

BartonCounty(8)

All 8 communities

BatesCounty(11)

All 11 communities

BentonCounty(6)

All 6 communities

BooneCounty(5)

Centralia,Columbia (part; also3rd),Hallsville,Harrisburg,Sturgeon

CamdenCounty(9)

Camdenton,Climax Springs,Friedenswald,Linn Creek,Macks Creek,Montreal,Osage Beach (part; also3rd),Stoutland (shared with Laclede County),Sunrise Beach (part; also3rd)

CassCounty(23)

All 23 communities

CedarCounty(5)

All 5 communities

DadeCounty(6)

All 6 communities

DallasCounty(4)

All 4 communities

HenryCounty(11)

All 11 communities

HickoryCounty(5)

All 5 communities

HowardCounty(5)

All 5 communities

JacksonCounty(8)

Blue Springs (part; also5th),Grain Valley,Independence (part; also5th and6th),Lake Lotawana (part; also5th),Lone Jack,Oak Grove (shared with Lafayette County),Pleasant Hills (shared with Cass County),Tarsney Lakes

JohnsonCounty(9)

All 9 communities

LacledeCounty(16)

All 16 communities

LafayetteCounty(17)

All 17 communities

MorganCounty(7)

All 7 communities

PettisCounty(8)

All 8 communities

PolkCounty(8)

All 8 communities

PulaskiCounty(6)

All 6 communities

St. ClairCounty(7)

All 7 communities

SalineCounty(12)

All 12 communities

VernonCounty(11)

All 11 communities

WebsterCounty(2)

Marshfield,Niangua

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	District location
District created March 4, 1847
Willard P. Hall (St. Joseph)	Democratic	March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1853	30th 31st 32nd	Elected in 1846. Re-elected in 1848. Re-elected in 1850. Retired.[9]
Mordecai Oliver (Richmond)	Whig	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	33rd 34th	Elected in 1852. Re-elected in 1854. Retired.
	Opposition	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857
James Craig (St. Joseph)	Democratic	March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1861	35th 36th	Elected in 1856. Re-elected in 1858. Retired.
Elijah H. Norton (Platte City)	Democratic	March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863	37th	Elected in 1860. Lost re-election.
Sempronius H. Boyd (Springfield)	Unconditional Unionist	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865	38th	Elected in 1862. Retired.
John R. Kelso (Springfield)	Independent Republican	March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867	39th	Elected in 1864. Retired.
Joseph J. Gravely (Stockton)	Republican	March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869	40th	Elected in 1866. Retired.
Sempronius H. Boyd (Springfield)	Republican	March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1871	41st	Elected in 1868. Retired.
Harrison E. Havens (Springfield)	Republican	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873	42nd	Elected in 1870. Redistricted to the6th district.
Robert A. Hatcher (Charleston)	Democratic	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1879	43rd 44th 45th	Elected in 1872. Re-elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Retired.
Lowndes H. Davis (Jackson)	Democratic	March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883	46th 47th	Elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Redistricted to the14th district.
James N. Burnes (St. Joseph)	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – January 23, 1889	48th 49th 50th	Elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888 but died before term started.
Vacant		January 23, 1889 – February 19, 1889	50th
Charles F. Booher (St. Joseph)	Democratic	February 19, 1889 – March 3, 1889		Elected to finish Burnes's term in the 50th Congress. Retired.
Vacant		March 4, 1889 – December 2, 1889	51st
Robert P. C. Wilson (Platte City)	Democratic	December 2, 1889 – March 3, 1893	51st 52nd	Elected to finish Burnes's term in the 51st Congress. Re-elected in 1890. Retired.
Daniel D. Burnes (St. Joseph)	Democratic	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895	53rd	Elected in 1892. Retired.
George C. Crowther (St. Joseph)	Republican	March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897	54th	Elected in 1894. Lost re-election.
Charles F. Cochran (St. Joseph)	Democratic	March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1905	55th 56th 57th 58th	Elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Withdrew from renomination.
Frank B. Fulkerson (St. Joseph)	Republican	March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1907	59th	Elected in 1904. Lost re-election.
Charles F. Booher (Savannah)	Democratic	March 4, 1907 – January 21, 1921	60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th	Elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Retired but died before term ended.
Vacant		January 21, 1921 – March 3, 1921	66th
Charles L. Faust (St. Joseph)	Republican	March 4, 1921 – December 17, 1928	67th 68th 69th 70th	Elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928 but died before term began.
Vacant		December 17, 1928 – February 5, 1929	70th
David W. Hopkins (St. Joseph)	Republican	February 5, 1929 – March 3, 1933	70th 71st 72nd	Elected to finish Faust's term in the 70th Congress. Also elected to start Faust's term in the 71st Congress. Re-elected in 1930. Redistricted toat-large and lost re-election.
District inactive		March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935	73rd	All representatives electedat-large on a general ticket.
C. Jasper Bell (Blue Springs)	Democratic	January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1949	74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th	Elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Retired.
Leonard Irving (Independence)	Democratic	January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953	81st 82nd	Elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Lost re-election.
Jeffrey P. Hillelson (Independence)	Republican	January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955	83rd	Elected in 1952. Lost re-election.	1953–1963 [data missing]
George H. Christopher (Butler)	Democratic	January 3, 1955 – January 23, 1959	84th 85th 86th	Elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Died.
Vacant		January 23, 1959 – March 3, 1959	86th
William J. Randall (Independence)	Democratic	March 3, 1959 – January 3, 1977	86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th	Elected to finish Christopher's term. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Retired.
					1963–1973 [data missing]
					1973–1983 [data missing]
Ike Skelton (Lexington)	Democratic	January 3, 1977 – January 3, 2011	95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th	Elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Lost re-election.
					1983–1993 [data missing]
					1993–2003 [data missing]
					2003–2013
Vicky Hartzler (Harrisonville)	Republican	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2023	112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th	Elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Retired torun for U.S. senator.
					2013–2023
Mark Alford (Lake Winnebago)	Republican	January 3, 2023 – present	118th 119th	Elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.	2023–present

The table below shows how individual counties in MO-04 voted inthe 2008 presidential election.U.S. SenatorJohn McCain (R-Arizona) won every single county in MO-04 and swept the district with 60.58 percent of the vote whileU.S. SenatorBarack Obama (D-Illinois) received 37.87 percent, a 22.71-percent margin of victory for the GOP.

The table below shows how individual counties in MO-04 voted inthe 2008 Missouri Democratic Presidential Primary. FormerU.S. SenatorHillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) swept the district by a convincing margin overU.S. SenatorBarack Obama (D-Illinois). Clinton won every county in the district with the exception of Cole County, home of the State Capitol.

• Missouri's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989).The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982).The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

38°16′57″N93°19′08″W / 38.28250°N 93.31889°W /38.28250; -93.31889

• Congressional districts of Missouri
• Constituencies established in 1847
• 1847 establishments in Missouri
• Constituencies disestablished in 1933
• 1933 disestablishments in Missouri
• Constituencies established in 1935
• 1935 establishments in Missouri

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