Paul Schimpf

Paul M. Schimpf (born 1971) is an American lawyer and former Republican member of the Illinois Senate from the 58th district from 2017 to 2021.^[1]

Paul Schimpf
Schimpf in 2018
Member of the Illinois Senate from the 58th district
In office January 11, 2017 – January 13, 2021
Preceded by	David Luechtefeld
Succeeded by	Terri Bryant
Personal details
Born	1971 (age 53–54) Scott Air Force Base, Illinois United States
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Lori
Children	2
Education	U.S. Naval Academy (BS) Southern Illinois University (JD)
Website	Campaign website
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	Marine Corps
Years of service	1993–2013
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	Judge Advocate Division

Among his activities prior to his tenure as State Senator, Schimpf served in the U.S. Marine Corps, participated in the trial of Saddam Hussein, and was the Republican nominee for Illinois Attorney General in 2014.

Schimpf was a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor in the 2022 Illinois gubernatorial election.

Early life and education

Schimpf, the son of two school teachers, was born in 1971 at Scott Air Force Base^[2] and raised in Waterloo, Illinois.^[3] He was the valedictorian of his high school senior class and was a National Merit Scholar.^[3] Schimpf attended the United States Naval Academy – passing an engineering scholarship offer at the University of Illinois^[3] – and Southern Illinois University School of Law.^[4]

Career

Schimpf served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.^[4] He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1993 and retired in May 2013.^[3]

In 2005, Schimpf was deployed to Iraq to serve as the chief American advisor to prosecutors in the trial of Saddam Hussein.^[5][3]

Schimpf served as a member of the legislative staff of U.S. Representative John Kline of Minnesota.^[3]

2014 Illinois Attorney General campaign

Main article: 2014 Illinois elections § Attorney General

Schimpf was the Republican nominee for Illinois Attorney General in 2014. Incumbent Democrat Lisa Madigan defeated him in the general election.^[3][6][7]

Illinois Senate

See also: 2016 Illinois Senate election

Schimpf ran successfully for the 58th district seat in the Illinois Senate in 2016, defeating former Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon in the general election.^[8][9] He was sworn in on January 11, 2017.^[10] His district included portions of Jefferson, Perry, Randolph, St. Clair, Monroe, Jackson, Union, and Washington counties.^[11] Schimpf announced he would not run for reelection to the Illinois Senate in 2020.^[12] He was succeeded by Terri Bryant, a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and a fellow Republican.^[13]

2022 Illinois gubernatorial campaign

Main article: 2022 Illinois gubernatorial election

On February 15, 2021, Schimpf announced his candidacy for Illinois Governor in the 2022 election.^[14] His running mate was Carolyn Schofield. They came in fourth place in the primary, receiving 4.3% of the vote. Schimpf managed to only win his home county Monroe, which was one of only two counties Darren Bailey did not win.

Electoral history

Illinois Attorney General General Election, 2014^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lisa Madigan (incumbent)	2,142,558	59.46
	Republican	Paul M. Schimpf	1,360,763	37.77
	Libertarian	Ben Koyl	99,903	2.77
Total votes			3,603,224	100.0

Illinois 58th State Senate District Republican Primary, 2016^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Schimpf	19,649	67.08
	Republican	Sharee Langenstein	9,641	32.92
Total votes			29,290	100.0

Illinois 58th State Senate District General Election, 2016^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Schimpf	59,735	60.56
	Democratic	Sheila Simon	38,905	39.44
Total votes			98,640	100.0

2022 Illinois gubernatorial election Republican primary results^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Darren Bailey Stephanie Trussell	454,068	57.7
	Republican	Jesse Sullivan Kathleen Murphy	123,156	15.6
	Republican	Richard Irvin Avery Bourne	117,276	14.9
	Republican	Gary Rabine Aaron Del Mar	51,611	6.6
	Republican	Paul Schimpf Carolyn Schofield	33,897	4.3
	Republican	Max Solomon Latasha H. Fields	7,199	0.9
Total votes			787,207

Personal life

Schimpf married his wife, Lori, while attending Southern Illinois University School of Law.^[3] They live in Waterloo, Illinois and have two sons together.^[3][2]