Hope Tinker

Hope Tinker is a physician and the Democratic candidate for Missouri House of Representatives District 48 in the November 3, 2026 general election, running against Republican incumbent Tim Taylor.[1][2] She retired from clinical practice as a family physician and serves as medical director of Hometown Homecare Hospice in Fayette, according to her Ballotpedia survey.[3]

Tinker earned a bachelor's degree from Washington University in 1977 and an M.D. from the University of Missouri, Columbia in 1982.[1] In a 2026 Ballotpedia survey, she said she has lived in Howard County for 40 years and shares a farm with her husband, David Fortel; she said they have four children and four grandchildren.[3]

Tinker named health care, tax revenue, and what she called attacks on democracy as her three key messages in the survey.[3] On health care, she said rural Missouri is losing access to affordable care and that many residents need coverage through Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act.[3]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.