Vicky Jo Hartzler (née Zellmer; born October 13, 1960) is an American politician, and businesswoman who served as the U.S. representative for Missouri's 4th congressional district from 2011 to 2023.

Hartzler was a candidate in the 2022 United States Senate election in Missouri, but lost the Republican primary to Eric Schmitt.

[9] After almost a decade out of politics, Hartzler entered the Republican primary for Missouri's 4th congressional district, which at the time was held by 17-term Democratic incumbent Ike Skelton.

During her first term, Hartzler represented a district that stretched as far east as the state capital, Jefferson City, and as far west as exurban areas of Jackson County.

At a town hall meeting in Missouri on April 5, 2012, Hartzler expressed doubts about President Barack Obama's birth certificate.

[11][12][13] In her first contest in the newly drawn district, Hartzler easily won the Republican primary with 84% of the vote against Bernie Mowinski and went on to win the general election with 60.3% against the Democratic nominee, Cass County Prosecuting Attorney Teresa Hensley.

[19] In September 2013, Hartzler voted for a $39 billion reduction in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which was separated from legislation to increase farm subsidies for the first time in over three decades.

[20][better source needed] As a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, Hartzler served as a conferee to pass the final version of the Farm Bill in 2018.

[25] In 2020, Hartzler introduced legislation to allow certain Rural Utilities Service borrowers to take advantage of low interest rates without heavy fines and penalties in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[citation needed] On November 18, 2014, during the worst early season cold snap in the U.S. since 1976, Hartzler made a joke about climate change on Twitter.

"[27] The quip was rebutted in detail by The Washington Post, which reported that her district in Missouri is among the areas most severely impacted by climate change in the United States.

[28] Hartzler supported the Trump administration's call to require the government to purchase only medical equipment and pharmaceuticals made in the United States.

In 2019, she and Representative John Garamendi introduced legislation to require the Department of Defense to "identify vulnerabilities faced by our country's dependence on Chinese pharmaceuticals, and to only purchase American-made raw materials, medicines, and vaccines for the military.

[50] Throughout her tenure in the committee, Hartzler has served as a conferee in the legislative process to pass the National Defense Authorization Act,[51] all of which the president has signed into law.

Hartzler has also successfully advocated for funding of the Fort Leonard Wood hospital replacement project and a partial dislocation allowance for service members forced to move from dormitories.

Her amendment was rejected in a 209–214 vote,[56] but Trump subsequently announced that he would ban transgender people to serve in U.S. military; Hartzler said that she was "very pleased" by the decision.

[61][62] On December 10, 2020, Hartzler was one of 126 Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election.

[63] The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

[70] In February 2022, Hartzler's campaign released a 30-second ad criticizing Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer on the University of Pennsylvania women's team.