Lindsey Simmons (D), a candidate for Missouri's 4th Congressional District, spoke to attendees Thursday at the Moniteau County Democrat Club's February meeting last Thursday.
Simmons is running against incumbent Vicky Hartzler for the seat in the November election later this year. Simmons hails from Saline County - specifically Marshall - and returned to the area a few years ago with husband Chris, an Apache helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army, after attending Harvard University's law school.
Through more than 1,000 hours of pro bono service for clients from military veterans to domestic abuse survivors while in law school, Simmons said she developed a commitment to helping to right injustices.
"Generally, when I see something wrong, I want to fight to fix it," Simmons said. "I very much got that from growing up here (in central Missouri). When we see something that is unfair, when we see something that is unjust, the community that I'm from - which is not, I'm sure, wholly different from here - you stand up and you fix it, that's just what you do. Political lines do not matter - you just do the right thing because it needs to be done."
Before filing for the Aug. 4 Primary Election at the end of last month, Simmons completed a 24-county road trip to meet voters in person. She said maintaining a presence throughout the 4th Congressional District will continue to be a priority of her campaign - she has a goal to host issue-based town halls throughout Mid-Missouri where attendees of all political affiliations can have conversations about topics like education, housing and health care in their communities, featuring a panel of experts on each issue.
"We (want) to get away from the toxicity that pervades politics," Simmons said.