Lindsey Simmons

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Lindsey Simmons

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Missouri Valley College, 2010

Law

Harvard Law School, 2015

Personal

Religion

Christian: Methodist

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Lindsey Simmons (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Missouri's 4th Congressional District. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Simmons completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Lindsey Simmons earned a bachelor's degree from Missouri Valley College in 2010. She pursued her graduate education from the University of South Dakota and Harvard Law School, graduating from Harvard with a J.D. in 2015. Simmons' career experience includes working as an attorney.

Elections

2020

See also: Missouri's 4th Congressional District election, 2020

Missouri's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 4 Republican primary)

Missouri's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 4 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Missouri District 4

Incumbent Vicky Hartzler defeated Lindsey Simmons and Steven Koonse in the general election for U.S. House Missouri District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Vicky Hartzler (R)	67.6	245,247
		Lindsey Simmons (D)	29.7	107,635
		Steven Koonse (L)	2.7	9,954

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 362,836
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 4

Lindsey Simmons advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 4 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lindsey Simmons	100.0	38,339

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,339
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Erich Arvidson (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 4

Incumbent Vicky Hartzler defeated Neal Gist in the Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 4 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Vicky Hartzler	76.6	80,652
		Neal Gist	23.4	24,646

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 105,298
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. House Missouri District 4

Steven Koonse defeated Robert E. Smith in the Libertarian primary for U.S. House Missouri District 4 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steven Koonse	53.0	357
		Robert E. Smith	47.0	316

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 673
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Lindsey Simmons completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Simmons' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm the mom to a rambunctious and mischievous boy and the wife to the bravest and best man I've ever known. He's an Apache helicopter pilot for the United States Army.

I'm a graduate of Harvard Law School, where I studied the intersection of agriculture and environmental policy. As a farm girl from Saline County Missouri who watched our fields flood in '93, the changing environment has been a fixture of my life. As an attorney, I've worked on numerous environmental issues.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Families.
• Fairness.
• Freedom.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Our policy priority is helping military families, working families, and farming families succeed. That includes making sure every single person has access to high-quality and low-cost healthcare, dental care, vision care, mental healthcare, long-term care, physical therapy care and behavioral care. It means investing in rural areas, bringing jobs to our towns so parents don't have to commute and so kids don't have to leave after graduation. It means making hospitals and doctors accessible. It means being a voice to veterans and active duty families who are too often overlooked. It means ending a trade war that makes collateral damage out of our family farmers. It means giving power to everyday people and valuing their voice over that of the wealthy and we'll-connected.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to so many different kinds of people for different reasons. But, as a child, I was desperate for strong women to embody. For me, there was Princess Leia and Queen Amidala. And Matilda and Hermione and Topanga.

I cannot overstate the importance of having someone you identify with doing the things you wish you could do. You have to see it to be it.

As I grew up, I was in awe of our forefathers, Leonardo DaVinci, Teddy Roosevelt, and as any proper Missourian would be-Walt Disney and Harry Truman. The idea that someone could come from where I lived-a small farm town near the river-and do incredible things, was such a motivator.

So I set off to do that myself. And when people laughed that I wanted to go to Harvard, I studied harder. And when I got in, I worked harder so I could pay for it. And after I graduated, I came home to mentor other young women and girls so they could see it-and so they could do it next.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Ike Skelton had a suggested list of books on national security to read before making decisions on national security. I've been reading through that list of 50 or so books for the past decade. I'd suggest anyone who is a student of history and believes in deliberative decision-making do the same.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Integrity.

Honesty.

Low tolerance for bullshit.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I did my damnedest for my community and family.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Technically, I was alive when the Berlin Wall came down, but I don't remember it. I have vague memories of Nancy Kerrigan getting hit in the knee during the Olympics. I remember voting for Ross Perot during our fake election at pre-school. I was probably four years old. But what I remember is having this great accessibility to all of these kinds of newsworthy events. It shaped me considerably to watch life unfold on the TV. That's something my parents really didn't have.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My family has been farming in Missouri since before it became a state. We do mostly row crops now but used to do lots of cattle and pigs before the markets turned down. My first job was working out on that farm. I did whatever my Papa asked of me. Some days that was bottle feeding calves. Sometimes it was going out in the crisp darkness of a winter night to check on those new calves. Other times it was clearing out the pastures, detassling corn, cleaning out the machine shed or putting fence up on the back 40. I was in awe of my Papa. He worked before the sun rose and didn't come in until it had gone down. And he loved it. Never complained. A farm is so much more than just a small business-a real family farm is a home. And for too many folks in my community they're losing that home and with it a generational legacy and tradition. We're gonna bring that back.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The BFG because it taught me to dream.

Harry Potter because it encouraged me to keep dreaming.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexis because it taught me how to marry my dreams to action.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Hermione. Leia. Topanga. Padmé. Eowyn. Matilda. Christina Yang. Maeve. Rory. C.J. Lylien. Arya.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Truth Hurts by Lizzo

Lover by Taylor Swift

Rodeo by Garth Brooks

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Watching my husband deploy to wars the President says don't matter.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The Constitution provides the House of Representatives the unique ability to initiate revenue bills and as we've seen recently, to impeach the President. It also has the unique ability to cast a vote for President should the electoral college tie.

But it's structure is also unique. Because elections occur every two years, Representatives are encouraged to be more in touch with their constituencies than Senators. This gives us a great ability to address immediate and timely matters-and gives us an incentive to do so. The House is so-called the People's House for a reason-our real imperative is to represent people. The Senate, prior to the Constitutional amendment to the contrary-was to represent sovereign states across the country.

The House is Representatives is meant to represent the people. And we must do that.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

There is a benefit to having experience representing people. As an attorney, by profession my only job is to represent the interests of my clients.

I have the added benefit of working for Congressman Ike Skelton and Senator Claire McCaskill, so I know how Congress works and I'm familiar with the tremendous importance of constituent services. But the best experience for this job is knowing how to listen to people and figure out what they want and need and then rolling up your sleeves to make it happen.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

National Security.

That comes in the form of having a nation completely unprepared to deal with climate change.

That comes in the form of having a President who has sabotaged our reputation abroad and made a mockery of our troops.

That comes from having a citizenry who can not afford to see a doctor. An unhealthy population is an unhealthy country. And that makes for a weak country.

That comes from having an administration defund public schools and under-educating a generation of youth. We cannot afford to be the last in class on the world stage.

The next decade will set the stage for which country leads the world on the most important issues this world has ever faced, including climate change, and right now we're falling behind.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

House Armed Services

Agriculture

Judiciary

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes.

And until we have campaign finance reform, we need self-imposed term limits.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Yes. Until campaign finance reform is passed.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Ike Skelton.

I had the profound honor of working for him. And he did his damnedest every single day. I aspire to do the same.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

As the spouse of an active duty military member, I'm running to be the first active duty spouse in Congress.

I have been incredibly touched by the outpouring of support from the military community. We had a soldier deployed to Afghanistan write to us, thanking us for helping to protect his family. He's in a war zone and felt so strongly about our mission he used his personal time to write us.

This race is so much bigger than just me or my family. This is about all of us.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

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Footnotes

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Missouri's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Josh Hawley (R)

Eric Schmitt (R)

Representatives

District 1

Wesley Bell (D)

District 2

Ann Wagner (R)

District 3

Bob Onder (R)

District 4

Mark Alford (R)

District 5

Emanuel Cleaver (D)

District 6

Sam Graves (R)

District 7

Eric Burlison (R)

District 8

Jason Smith (R)

Republican Party (8)

Democratic Party (2)