Missouri's 4th congressional district comprises west-central Missouri. It stretches from the northern half of Columbia to the southern and eastern suburbs of Kansas City, including a sliver of Kansas City in Cass County and parts of Blue Springs in Jackson County. It also includes the portion of Columbia north of Interstate 70, home to the

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

(but not the university itself). The district is predominantly

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

and relatively

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;

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

defeated

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

64% to 35% in the 2004 election and

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defeated

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

61% to 38% in the 2008 election. The district is currently represented by Republican Mark Alford, a former reporter for WDAF-TV, the city's Fox affiliate. This district had historically been a Democratic Party stronghold. Antipathy to the Republican Party had its origins in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and the infamous General Order 11. The Union Army ordered evacuation of the county in an attempt to reduce support for and the power of bushwhacker guerrillas. After the Civil War, there was disfranchisement 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. Gradually this area developed a character similar to yellow dog Democrat districts in the South. Until 2010, only one Republican had been elected here since the

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, and only for one term. However, several demographic trends have converged to erode the Democratic base in this district. First, as the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' election maps show, the predominantly rural counties lining the Missouri River have sharply trended Republican between the 2000 Senate election and the 2006 election, following trends across the South. Secondly, population losses in Kansas City resulted in the 4th gradually losing much of its share of heavily Democratic Jackson County to the Kansas City-based 5th district. Until 1983, the district stretched as far as

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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. The result of these trends resulted in a dramatic collapse of Democratic support in the district.

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

, and

won less than 40% of the vote here. It ultimately presaged Ike Skelton's defeat by Vicky 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 Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Cass, ...

, Cedar, Dade,

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, Henry,

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...

, Howard, Jackson (parts), Johnson, Laclede, Lafayette, Morgan, Pettis, Polk, Pulaski, Saline, St. Clair, Vernon, and Webster (parts).

Recent election results from statewide races

Composition

For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties, townships, and municipalities:https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST27/CD118_MO04.pdf
/ref> Barton County (8) : All 8 communities Bates County (11) : All 11 communities Benton County (6) : All 6 communities Boone County (5) : Centralia, Columbia (part; also 3rd), Hallsville,

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, Sturgeon Camden County (9) : Camdenton, Climax Springs, Friedenswald, Linn Creek, Macks Creek,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Osage Beach (part; also 3rd), Stoutland (shared with Laclede County), Sunrise Beach (part; also 3rd) Cass County (23) : All 23 communities Cedar County (5) : All 5 communities Dade County (6) : All 6 communities Dallas County (4) : All 4 communities Henry County (11) : All 11 communities Hickory County (5) : All 5 communities Howard County (5) : All 5 communities Jackson County (8) : Blue Springs (part; also 5th), Grain Valley,

(part; also 5th and 6th), Lake Lotawana (part; also 5th), Lone Jack, Oak Grove (shared with Lafayette County), Pleasant Hills (shared with Cass County), Tarsney Lakes Johnson County (9) : All 9 communities Laclede County (16) : All 16 communities Lafayette County (17) : All 17 communities Morgan County (7) : All 7 communities Pettis County (8) : All 8 communities Polk County (8) : All 8 communities Pulaski County (6) : All 6 communities St. Clair County (7) : All 7 communities Saline County (12) : All 12 communities Vernon County (11) : All 11 communities Webster County (2) : Marshfield, Niangua

List of members representing the district

Election Results

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2024

Prior results

2008 Presidential Election Results

The table below shows how individual counties in MO-04 voted in the 2008 presidential election. U.S. Senator

(R-

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) won every single county in MO-04 and swept the district with 60.58 percent of the vote while U.S. Senator

(D-

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) received 37.87 percent, a 22.71-percent margin of victory for the GOP.

2008 Missouri Democratic Presidential Primary Election Results

The table below shows how individual counties in MO-04 voted in the 2008 Missouri Democratic Presidential Primary. Former U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D- New York) swept the district by a convincing margin over U.S. Senator

(D-

). Clinton won every county in the district with the exception of Cole County, home of the State Capitol.

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Missouri's 4th Congressional District 04 Constituencies established in 1847 1847 establishments in Missouri Constituencies disestablished in 1933 1933 disestablishments in Missouri Constituencies established in 1935 1935 establishments in Missouri