Derek Schmidt

Derek Larkin Schmidt (born January 23, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Kansas's 2nd congressional district since 2025. He was the Kansas Attorney General from 2011 to 2023. He is a Republican. He was a member of the Kansas Senate from 2001 to 2011.

Derek Schmidt
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2025
Preceded by	Jake LaTurner
44th Attorney General of Kansas
In office January 10, 2011 – January 9, 2023
Governor	Sam Brownback Jeff Colyer Laura Kelly
Preceded by	Stephen Six
Succeeded by	Kris Kobach
Majority Leader of the Kansas Senate
In office January 10, 2005 – January 10, 2011
Preceded by	Lana Oleen
Succeeded by	Jay Emler
Member of the Kansas Senate from the 15th district
In office January 8, 2001 – January 10, 2011
Preceded by	Tim Emert
Succeeded by	Jeff King
Personal details
Born	Derek Larkin Schmidt (1968-01-23) January 23, 1968 (age 57) Independence, Kansas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jennifer Schmidt
Education	University of Kansas (BA) University of Leicester (MA) Georgetown University (JD)

As State Attorney General, Schmidt joined Donald Trump in challenging the results of the 2020 United States presidential election in an attempt to overturn the election results and Joe Biden's victory.^[1]

In March 2021, Schmidt announced his candidacy for governor of Kansas in the 2022 election.^[2] He lost the election to Governor Laura Kelly in November 2022.

In April 2024, Schmidt announced that he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Kansas's 2nd congressional district, to replace U.S. representative Jake LaTurner, who had announced his retirement a week before.^[3] He won the general election in November 2024.