Mark Alford

Running for his third term representing the 4th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Mark Alford believes there is more at stake in this election than a congressional seat. To Alford, control of the House of Representatives is paramount to preserving recent Republican successes.

“This is a fight for the soul of America,” Alford said. “This is a line of demarcation that we go one way or the other in America, and it’s important that everyone get out and vote, you bank your vote early and help us preserve the majority of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

To Alford, voters have a choice between two starkly different parties.

“Are you on the side of chaos and communism?” he asked. “Or are you on the side of common sense and capitalism? And those are the choices that you’ve got to make on November 3rd.”

As a representative of both urban and rural parts of the state, Alford must balance the two, weighing his desires to meet as many as possible.

“The key to that is being a good listener and being able to gain an understanding of what people’s needs are,” he said. “You’re not always going to meet those needs, but people want to be listened to and feel like you represent them even though you may not agree with them politically.”

Today, Alford said he’s hearing people’s concerns about the economy amid the Iran War. While he understands the worries, he also believes higher prices are worth the security.

“I think most people my age understand the reality of the threat that this Islamic regime has been, not just to that region, but to the world,” he said. “And to ensure they never have a nuclear weapon, I’m willing to pay an extra $20 a week in fuel as I travel the district.”

In April, Alford introduced the Fair and Accurate Ingredient Representation on Labels Act, which would restrict how plant-based and lab-grown meat alternatives can be labeled. He said he hopes to continue working to get the bill implemented, working collaboratively with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The 4th District has been a source of confusion within the state, as a series of court cases caused its boundaries to fluctuate between two maps before ultimately returning to the district Alford was elected to in 2022 and 2024.

Alford was supportive of the gerrymandered map, and originally campaigned on those boundaries, which were used in the primary.

“But nevertheless, the Supreme Court decided it and we immediately got to work because we had to go to five counties, and relatively big counties, including Boone County, and begin campaigning in those counties that we were not going to have under the Missouri First map,” Alford said.

“It’s been extra work for us, but it was beneficial in that we were already serving these districts through our district offices,” he said.

In August 2025, Alford embarked on a 15-county town hall tour, making a stop in Harrisburg as his Boone County visit. When asked why he did not make a stop in Columbia, Alford responded, “We will come to Columbia next year.”

However, he has not held any town halls in 2026.

Alford maintained that the city would be included in any future tours, but that the format of the events may change to be more conducive to civil discourse and conversation.

“We’ve got to have an environment where it’s productive and not a shouting match,” he said.

With what he describes as a relatively safe seat, Alford is spending time leading up to the election campaigning for Republican candidates in Tennessee, Washington, Nevada, California and Montana. Alford is aiming to keep the Republican majority in the House.

If that majority isn’t secured, Alford has fears for what the future may hold.

“It’s gonna be about the investigation of the Trump family. Impeachment of Donald Trump,” he said.

“(Democrats) gonna try to reopen the border. They’re gonna try to pull back on everything that we’ve accomplished with the One Big Beautiful Bill staving off, preventing the largest tax increase in U.S. history,” Alford said.

“They’re going to want to renew those taxes, and all this work that we have done, they’re going to try to disassemble,” he added.

Originally published on columbiamissourian.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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