Mark Alford
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 4th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byVicky Hartzler
Personal details
Born (1963-10-04) October 4, 1963 (age 59)
Baytown, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Leslie Adkins
​
(m. 1989)​
Children3
EducationLee College
Texas State University
University of Texas, Austin (attended)
WebsiteHouse website

Mark Allen Alford Sr. (born October 4, 1963) is an American politician and former television news anchor serving as the U.S. representative for Missouri's 4th congressional district since 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and career

Alford, Sr. was born in Baytown, Texas.[1][2] He attended Sterling High School and the University of Texas at Austin, but left college without graduating.[3]

Alford, Sr. worked for KPRC-TV in Houston as a reporter and weekend anchor for News 2 Houston from 1995 and 1998. Before that, he was anchor for KDFW-TV in Dallas and a reporter with WPTV-TV in West Palm Beach; KWTX-TV in Waco; and KXAN-TV in Austin.[4] In 1998, he went to WDAF-TV in Kansas City as an anchor for Fox 4 News and stayed there for 23 years. He announced his resignation on October 8, 2021.[5]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri § District 4

On October 27, 2021, Alford, Sr. announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Missouri's 4th congressional district as a Republican in the 2022 elections.[6][7] He won the Republican nomination in the August 2 primary election[8] and won the November 8 general election.[9]

Tenure

Alford, Sr. was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[10]

Personal life

Alford, Sr. and his wife, Leslie, have three children, Mark Allen Alford Jr., Alexandria Naomi Francis, and Spencer "Jasper" Adkins Alford. [11] They live in Lake Winnebago, a suburb of Kansas City. Alford is a member of Evangel Church, an Assemblies of God megachurch in Kansas City.

References

  1. ^ ABC 17 News Team (October 28, 2022). "Interview with Fourth Congressional District candidate Mark Alford". ABC17NEWS. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  2. ^ "Rep. Mark Alford - R Missouri, 4th, In Office - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  3. ^ Recchia, Charlie. "Three vying for open 4th Congressional District seat". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "Thank You Mark Alfred for be our Rotary guest, bio below". Rotary Club of Independence. April 10, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  5. ^ Your name(required) (October 8, 2021). "Anchor Mark Alford leaving FOX4 Kansas City after 23 years". Fox4kc.com. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Shorman, Jonathan (October 27, 2021). "Former Fox 4 anchor enters race for Congress. 'I just feel like God's calling me'". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  7. ^ "Former Kansas City news anchor Mark Alford announces bid for Congress". KCUR 89.3 - NPR in Kansas City. October 27, 2021.
  8. ^ Producer, Andreas Busse, KOMU 8 Digital (August 2, 2022). "Mark Alford wins GOP nomination for Missouri's 4th Congressional District". KOMU 8.
  9. ^ "Former Kansas City TV anchor Mark Alford wins congressional seat". KSHB 41 Kansas City News. November 9, 2022.
  10. ^ Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". The Hill. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  11. ^ "Former news anchor Mark Alford: "God's calling me" to run for Congress". Metro Voice News. October 28, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2022.

External links

U.S. House of Representatives Preceded byVicky Hartzler Member of the U.S. House of Representativesfrom Missouri's 4th congressional district 2023–present Incumbent U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) Preceded byRyan Zinke United States representatives by seniority 361st Succeeded byBecca Balint
Missouri's current delegation to the United States Congress
Current members of the United States House of Representatives
Missouri's delegation(s) to the 118th–present United States Congress (ordered by seniority)
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