Carved out of district, Sara Walsh pulls out of race to replace Hartzler in Congress
State Rep. Sara Walsh announced Monday she is withdrawing from her campaign for Congress after newly approved congressional maps pushed her out of the district she hoped to represent.
“In good conscience, I cannot continue to ask for sacrificial contributions for my campaign from good people who are suffering under skyrocketing gas prices, soaring food prices, baby formula shortages, and other inflationary challenges when my campaign may not be victorious due to the new Congressional District map,” Walsh, an Ashland Republican, said in a press release.
Walsh has close ties with U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, who gave up her seat in Congress to run in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Walsh’s husband Steve served as Hartzler’s press secretary before he died of complications from COVID-19 in August 2021, just a month after she began her campaign.
Walsh was running to replace Hartzler in Missouri’s 4th Congressional District, which now stretches from the Kansas City metro to central Missouri and the top half of Boone County. The counties Walsh represents in the Missouri House of Representatives were moved into the the 3rd Congressional District, which is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, a Republican from St. Elizabeth.
The new district lines were approved Thursday in a last minute push at the statehouse. For months, members of the Missouri Senate’s conservative caucus blocked the process in an attempt to pass a version of the lines that would give Republicans an additional seat in Congress, carving up Kansas City in the process. The Senate was able to pass a version on the second to last day of the legislative session, avoiding a scenario where the map would have been drawn by the courts.
Walsh voted to approve the new map, saying she thought it was good for conservatives and good for Missouri. An earlier version of the congressional map would have kept Walsh, who lives in Ashland, in the district.
While members of Congress are not required to live in the district they represent, Walsh concluded the new district would no longer include many of her biggest supporters, hurting her chances of winning in a crowded primary field.
The Republican primary includes Boone County Clerk Taylor Burks, former TV anchor Mark Alford, Stockton cattle farmer Kalena Bruce, retired police officer Bill Irwin and state Sen. Rick Brattin.
Even before withdrawing, Walsh was already struggling to keep up with the field financially. In her most recent filing with the Federal Elections Commission, Walsh reported having just $67,954 on hand, less than half of what the other major candidates reported.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified Bill Irwin’s job occupation.
This story was originally published May 16, 2022 at 12:04 PM.
