Eric Schmitt

Eric Schmitt
Official portrait, 2023
United States Senator
from Missouri
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Serving with Josh Hawley
Preceded byRoy Blunt
43rd Attorney General of Missouri
In office
January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023
GovernorMike Parson
Preceded byJosh Hawley
Succeeded byAndrew Bailey
46th Treasurer of Missouri
In office
January 9, 2017 – January 3, 2019
GovernorEric Greitens
Mike Parson
Preceded byClint Zweifel
Succeeded byScott Fitzpatrick
Member of the Missouri Senate
from the 15th district
In office
January 7, 2009 – January 4, 2017
Preceded byMichael R. Gibbons
Succeeded byAndrew Koenig
Personal details
Born
Eric Stephen Schmitt

(1975-06-20) June 20, 1975 (age 49)
Bridgeton, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJaime Forrester
Children3
EducationTruman State University (BA)
Saint Louis University (JD)
WebsiteSenate website

Eric Stephen Schmitt[1] (born June 20, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Missouri since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Schmitt served from 2017 to 2019 as the 46th State Treasurer of Missouri and from 2019 to 2023 as the 43rd Missouri Attorney General.

From 2005 to 2008, Schmitt was an alderman for Glendale, Missouri.[2] He served as member of the Missouri Senate from 2009 to 2017, representing the 15th district. In 2016, Schmitt was elected Missouri state treasurer. On November 13, 2018, Governor Mike Parson named Schmitt attorney general of Missouri after the incumbent, Josh Hawley, was elected to the United States Senate.[3][4] On November 3, 2020, Schmitt was elected to a full four-year term as attorney general. As AG, he filed lawsuits to have the Affordable Care Act invalidated by courts and sued school districts and municipalities for implementing mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump refused to concede, Schmitt joined other Republicans in falsely claiming fraud. He supported failed lawsuits seeking to invalidate the 2020 election results. He sued the Biden administration 25 times, with mixed outcomes. He challenged the administration's policies, and signed onto an amicus brief that argued that LGBT people are not protected by workplace discrimination bans. In March 2021, he announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate. In 2022, Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating Democratic nominee Trudy Busch Valentine.

  1. ^ Sarasota Wine Market v. Eric Stephen Schmitt, 19-1948 (8th Cir. March 24, 2021).
    Preview warning: Page using Template:Cite court with unknown parameter "via"
  2. ^ "Eric Schmitt sworn in as Missouri's 43rd Attorney General". Webster County Citizen. January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  3. ^ Suntrup, Jack (November 13, 2018). "State Treasurer Eric Schmitt to become Missouri AG after Hawley elected to Senate". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  4. ^ King, Samuel (November 13, 2018). "Missouri's Next Attorney General Will Be State Treasurer Eric Schmitt". KCUR-FM. Retrieved November 13, 2018.