Derek Schmidt is the Republican incumbent representing Kansas's 2nd District, elected in 2024 after more than two decades in Kansas state government. A fifth-generation Kansan from Independence, he served in the Kansas Senate, including as majority leader, and as the state's attorney general for 12 years, and lost the 2022 race for governor. He serves on the House Armed Services, Judiciary, and Small Business committees.[1][2]
Schmidt is, according to his official biography, a fifth-generation Kansan from Independence who graduated from Independence High School and then studied at Independence Community College.[1][2] He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Kansas, a master's degree in international politics from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, and a doctorate in law from the University of Kansas School of Law.[1][2] He worked as an assistant to U.S. Senators Nancy Kassebaum and Chuck Hagel, an assistant to the Kansas Attorney General, special counsel to the Governor of Kansas, and a lawyer with the firm Scovel, Emert, Heasty & Chubb. He has also served as a director of Independence Industries Incorporated and the Kansas State Historical Society.[1]
Schmidt served in the Kansas State Senate (District 15) from 2001 to 2011, chairing the Senate Agriculture Committee and serving as Senate Majority Leader.[1][2] He was the 44th Attorney General of Kansas from 2011 to 2023 and was re-elected in 2018 over Sarah Swain. According to his official biography, he personally argued three Kansas cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and led efforts to build a new Kansas Bureau of Investigation forensic science laboratory.[1][2] He was president of the National Association of Attorneys General from 2017 to 2018 and, according to his official biography, was named the nation's Outstanding Attorney General by his colleagues in 2019.[2]
Schmidt won the Republican nomination for governor in 2022, defeating Arlyn Briggs in the primary, and lost the November general election to incumbent Democrat Laura Kelly.[1] He was elected to the U.S. House in November 2024, defeating Democrat Nancy Boyda and Libertarian John Hauer after winning a five-candidate Republican primary, and took office January 3, 2025, succeeding Jake LaTurner. He won the August 4, 2026 Republican primary over Chad Young.[1][2] For 2025-2026 he is assigned to the House Armed Services, Judiciary, and Small Business committees.[1][2]
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.
