Sara Walsh is an American politician serving as a member of the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

from the 50th district.

Early life and education

Walsh was born in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...

, and moved to

Ashland, Missouri Ashland is a city in Boone County, Missouri, United States. Ashland is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,747 at the 2020 census. History Ashland was founded in 1853. It was named for the Ashland ...

, in 1986. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Columbia College and a Master of Public Affairs from the

Truman School of Public Affairs The Harry S Truman School of Public Affairs is one of twenty-one schools and colleges at the University of Missouri. Established in 2001, it was previously known as the Department of Public Administration. The school mission is to "advance the kn ...

of the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

Personal life

In 2012, Walsh married Steve Walsh, a former journalist who became press secretary to Congresswoman

Vicky Hartzler Vicky Jo Hartzler (née Zellmer; born October 13, 1960) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, she ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Missouri in March 2020. A university student who had recently been to Italy, was the first index case for COVID-19 in Missouri. She was treated at Mercy Hospital St. Louis. As ...

, the Walshs both decided not to receive the

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...

. Sara Walsh did not receive the vaccine on the basis that vaccines were not fully approved by the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

and due to side effects experienced by some of her friends. Both of the Walshs contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in early August 2021; Steve Walsh was admitted to a hospital for recovery while Sara Walsh recovered at home. On August 19, Steve Walsh died of the virus, aged 63.

Career

In 2005, Walsh worked as a legislative assistant in the

. From 2004 to 2014, she was a programs and outreach manager for the

National Newspaper Association The National Newspaper Association (NNA) is a Pensacola, FL based non-profit newspaper trade association founded in 1885. The organization has over 2,300 members, making it the largest newspaper trade association in the United States. The organiza ...

. In 2014 and 2015, she was a staff auditor in the office of the

state auditor of Missouri The state auditor of Missouri is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Missouri. Thirty-eight individuals have occupied the office of state auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Nicole Gal ...

. From 2015 to 2017, she was a member services coordinator for the Missouri Pharmacy Association.

Missouri House of Representatives

Walsh was elected to the House in April 2017 to replace Caleb Jones, who resigned to take on the job as deputy chief of staff to

Missouri Governor The governor of Missouri is the head of government of the U.S. state of Missouri and the commander-in-chief of the Missouri National Guard. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by t ...

Eric Greitens Eric Robert Greitens (; born April 10, 1974) is a former American politician who was the 56th governor of Missouri from January 2017 until his resignation in June 2018 amid allegations of sexual assault and campaign finance impropriety. Born a ...

. She is a member of the Republican Party. Since 2021, she has served as the Republican majority caucus chair. Walsh also serves as chair of the House Consent and Procedure Committee. Walsh is

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

, and supported a proposal that would remove

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

funding from

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

in Missouri.

2022 congressional election

On July 7, 2021, Walsh announced her candidacy for

Missouri's 4th congressional district Missouri's 4th congressional district comprises west central Missouri. It stretches from Columbia to the southern suburbs of Kansas City, including a sliver of Kansas City itself. The district is predominantly rural and relatively conservativ ...

in the 2022 election.

References

Republican Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Women state legislators in Missouri Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Torrance, California Columbia College (Missouri) alumni University of Missouri alumni 21st-century American women {{Missouri-politician-stub