For more than three decades, Ike Skelton has served the people and communities of Missouri’s 4th District putting leadership ahead of politics.
As one of the foremost leaders on defense and veterans issues, Ike relentlessly fought for our men and women in uniform – both when they are in harm’s way and when they returned home. As Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Ike Skelton has time and again broken with popular opinion to stand up for our soldiers, the military and their strategic action.
Missouri’s 4th District is home to Fort Leonard Wood, Whiteman Air Force Base and the Missouri National Guard Training Center. Skelton was instrumental in bringing the Army Engineer, Chemical and Military Police Schools to Fort Leonard Wood and the B-2 Stealth bomber to Whiteman.
A native of Lexington, Skelton has represented Missouri’s Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1977. He is a graduate of Wentworth Military Academy and the University of Missouri at Columbia where he received A.B. and L.L.B. degrees. He was named as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Law Review. Prior to his election to Congress, Skelton served as Lafayette County Prosecuting Attorney and as a Missouri State Senator.
Skelton is an elder of the First Christian Church in Lexington. He and his late wife Susan have three sons. Skelton married Patricia Martin in 2009.