Representative Mark Sanford

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. A member of the Republican Party, he has contributed to the legislative process as part of the House of Representatives, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents during a significant period in American history.

Alford was born in Baytown, Texas, and raised in the Houston area. He attended Sterling High School in Houston before enrolling at the University of Texas at Austin. He left college without graduating, instead pursuing a full-time career in broadcast journalism. His early professional years were spent moving through a series of reporting and anchoring positions that built his reputation as a television news personality in several Texas and Florida markets.

Beginning his journalism career in local television, Alford worked as a reporter with KWTX-TV in Waco and KXAN-TV in Austin, Texas, and later with WPTV-TV in West Palm Beach, Florida. He subsequently became an anchor for KDFW-TV in Dallas, Texas. From 1995 to 1998, he served as a reporter and weekend anchor for News 2 Houston on KPRC-TV in Houston, further solidifying his presence in major Texas media markets. In 1998, Alford moved to the Kansas City metropolitan area to join WDAF-TV as an anchor for Fox 4 News. He remained at WDAF-TV for 23 years, becoming a familiar figure to viewers across the region. On October 8, 2021, he announced his resignation from the station, closing a more than two-decade tenure in Kansas City television news.

Shortly after leaving broadcasting, Alford entered electoral politics. On October 27, 2021, he announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Missouri’s 4th congressional district as a Republican in the 2022 elections. He campaigned as a conservative Republican, emphasizing issues important to voters in a largely rural and small-town district that includes portions of western and central Missouri. Alford won the Republican nomination in the August 2, 2022, primary election and subsequently prevailed in the November 8, 2022, general election, securing his first term in Congress. He assumed office at the beginning of the 118th Congress in January 2023.

In Congress, Alford has aligned with the Republican Party on fiscal, national security, and social issues. He was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House, reflecting concerns among some conservatives about federal spending and debt. He voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, underscoring his support for a strong U.S.–Israel relationship. Alford supported the 2025 United States federal mass layoffs, telling fired federal employees at an event in Belton, Missouri, that “God has a plan and purpose for your life,” a comment that drew attention to his public expression of faith and his perspective on the role of government employment. He has also supported proposed tariffs on Canadian trade, arguing that he and American consumers are willing to accept higher costs to “get America right again.” In addition, Alford opposed the discharge petition for the release of the so‑called Epstein files, but stated that he would approve the measure if it advances to a vote, indicating a nuanced position on transparency and procedural mechanisms in the House.

Alford’s committee assignments reflect a focus on federal spending, national security, and small business. He serves on the House Committee on Appropriations, one of the most influential committees in Congress, where he sits on the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government; the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, on which he serves as vice chair; and the Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs. He also serves on the House Committee on Small Business, where he is chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations, giving him a role in examining federal policies affecting small enterprises and in overseeing regulatory impacts on business owners.

In his personal life, Alford is married to Leslie Alford. The couple has three children: Mark Allen Alford Jr., Alexandria Naomi Francis, and Spencer “Jasper” Adkins Alford. They reside in Lake Winnebago, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, situating the family within the region where he built his broadcasting career and from which he launched his political career. Alford is a member of Evangel Church, an Assemblies of God megachurch in Kansas City, and his Christian faith has been a visible element of his public persona and rhetoric.