A former local television news anchor going after U.S. House Rep. Vicky Hartzler’s soon-to-be vacant seat is running his campaign in Raymore.

On Saturday, May 7, Mark Alford hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony at 1272 W. Foxwood Drive to celebrate the grand opening of his campaign headquarters. Alford is a candidate for Missouri District 4’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Running as a Republican, Alford will be facing off against seven more Republicans during the primary election in August:

• Rick Brattin
• Kalena Bruce
• Taylor Burks
• Jim Campbell
• William Irwin
• Kyle LaBrue
• Sara Walsh

According to the Federal Election Commission, Burks’ campaign is leading the pack in finances with more than $600,000 in total receipts. Alford has the second most with more than $400,000, followed by Bruce with more than $300,000.

The winner of the Republican primary will be challenged in the general election by Democrat Jack Truman and Libertarian Randy Langkraehr. Nearly all projections have the Republican candidate winning the seat.

Hartzler has raised the bar high for whoever wins the seat. GovTrack’s latest report card ranked Hartzler the third-most conservative member of the U.S. House, trailing only Reps. Ralph Norman, R-SC-5, and Randy Weber, R-TX-14.

Primary elections in Missouri will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 2. For polling locations and other local election information, go to the Cass County Election Authority’s webpage at CassCounty.com.