Eric Schmitt Bio
Eric Stephen Schmitt (born June 20, 1975) is an American attorney and Republican politician who has served since 2023 as the junior United States senator from Missouri. He previously served as the 43rd attorney general of Missouri from 2019 to 2023 and as the 46th state treasurer from 2017 to 2019. A practicing lawyer before entering public office, Schmitt built his career in Missouri politics through a series of statewide offices before reaching the United States Senate.
Schmitt’s policy positions align with conservative and national-conservative priorities. As a senator, he is the vice chair of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee and has continued to champion legal challenges against federal policies. He was sworn in on January 3, 2023, becoming the 2,000th senator to hold office in the history of the Senate.
Early Life and Background
Schmitt was born in Bridgeton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. He grew up in the St. Louis metropolitan area and attended DeSmet Jesuit High School, graduating in 1993. He went on to attend Truman State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1997. At Truman, Schmitt was a member of the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity, played football and baseball, and was a founding member of Truman’s Habitat for Humanity chapter.
Schmitt received a scholarship to attend Saint Louis University School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor in 2000. He was admitted to the Missouri bar that same year and began his legal career as a partner at the firm Lathrop & Gage, LLP in Clayton, Missouri. His early professional work in private practice laid the foundation for a transition into public service in the following years.
Path to US Politics
Schmitt began his political career as an alderman for Glendale, Missouri, serving as one of two aldermen for Ward 3 from 2005 to 2008. In that role, he engaged with local issues and developed the legislative skills that would shape his later work. On November 4, 2008, Schmitt was elected to the Missouri Senate, representing the 15th district, which includes parts of central and western St. Louis County.
During his time in the Missouri Senate from 2009 to 2017, Schmitt sponsored major reductions in the state income tax and franchise tax and expanded benefits and tax exemptions for disabled citizens. He also led a bipartisan effort in response to the Ferguson unrest to successfully eliminate traffic ticket quotas and limit local revenues from non-traffic fines. Term-limited in 2016, Schmitt ran for and won the office of state treasurer, beginning the statewide phase of his political ascent.
Eric Schmitt Career
Early Career (2005–2017)
Schmitt’s first notable run for office came in 2005 when he was elected alderman in Glendale, Missouri, serving until 2008. He then won a seat in the Missouri Senate in 2008, representing the 15th district through 2017. In the State Senate, Schmitt championed tax-cut legislation and sponsored a major franchise tax cut that passed.
In 2013, Schmitt introduced legislation that would halve the state’s corporate income tax and reduce taxes on C corporations. The legislation, enacted in 2014, also lowered state income taxes beginning in 2018. In 2016, he sponsored S.B. 572, which set a limit on the percent of revenue that Missouri local governments could obtain from non-traffic fines. That same year, Schmitt led bipartisan legislation to bar cities, counties, and law-enforcement agencies from setting traffic-ticket quotas, working with Senator Jamilah Nasheed and others.
State Treasurer and Attorney General Era (2017–2023)
Schmitt was elected state treasurer in 2016 and took office in 2017, serving until 2019. He launched the MO ABLE program in 2017, which is similar to 529 college savings plans, and created the Show-Me Checkbook website, which provides data on state spending, state revenues, payroll, debt obligations, and cash flow. His work as treasurer broadened his statewide profile.
In January 2019, Governor Mike Parson appointed Schmitt as Missouri Attorney General to succeed Josh Hawley, who had been elected to the U.S. Senate. Schmitt was elected to a full four-year term in 2020. As attorney general, he filed or joined lawsuits seeking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election, and, on 25 occasions, oppose the policies of the Joe Biden administration. He also sued school districts and municipalities for implementing mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic and sued the government of China and the Chinese Communist Party for their alleged role in the pandemic.
U.S. Senate Era (2023–Present)
On March 24, 2021, Schmitt announced his candidacy for the United States Senate to succeed incumbent Republican Roy Blunt. His candidacy was backed by Missouri mega-donor Rex Sinquefield. He won the Republican primary on August 2, 2022, with 45.6% of the vote, and won the general election with 55.4%, defeating Democratic nominee Trudy Busch Valentine by a margin of 13.2%.
Upon the opening of the 118th United States Congress on January 3, 2023, Schmitt was sworn in by Senate president and Vice President Kamala Harris. He was among the 31 Senate Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. In 2025, Schmitt spoke at the National Conservatism Conference, declaring that national conservatism is an idea whose time has arrived. He has served as vice chair of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee.
Notable Events and Milestones
Schmitt’s signature moments include his role in Texas v. Pennsylvania, in which he joined 16 other Republican attorneys general in a 2020 suit to invalidate electoral votes in four states; the Supreme Court rejected the suit in an unsigned opinion on December 11, 2020. In June 2022, minutes after the Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Schmitt issued a declaration that his office would enforce a Missouri law that effectively banned abortion in the state. In April 2025, he filed a bill to make Easter Monday a federal holiday.
Eric Schmitt Career Wins
Schmitt has compiled a strong record of electoral victories across local, state, and federal offices, beginning with his 2005 election to the Glendale Board of Aldermen and continuing through his 2022 election to the United States Senate. His ability to win competitive primaries and general elections has defined his rise through Missouri politics.
Electoral Highlights
Schmitt’s first major win came when he was elected alderman in Glendale in 2005, serving until 2008. He then won election to the Missouri Senate in 2008, representing the 15th district for eight years. After winning election as state treasurer in 2016, he was appointed attorney general in 2019 and won a full term in 2020. His most recent victory came in the 2022 U.S. Senate race, where he defeated Trudy Busch Valentine by a margin of 13.2%.
Other Wins and Achievements
Beyond elections, Schmitt achieved legislative successes including the passage of a major franchise tax cut, the enactment of bipartisan reforms eliminating traffic-ticket quotas, and the creation of the MO ABLE savings program and Show-Me Checkbook transparency website during his tenure as state treasurer. As attorney general, he was a leading voice in multistate legal actions against federal policies, including the 25 lawsuits filed against the Biden administration during his tenure.
Eric Schmitt Family
Family Background and Personal Life
Schmitt is Catholic. He is married to Jaime Forrester, with the union beginning in 1999. Schmitt has a son with autism, an experience that shaped his legislative advocacy for disabled citizens during his time in the Missouri Senate. In 2010, he supported a bill in the Missouri General Assembly that required health insurers to pay up to a set annual amount for applied behavioral analysis therapy. In 2015, he worked to enact legislation allowing Missouri residents to establish tax-exempt savings accounts for relatives with disabilities.
For the fall 2018 semester, Schmitt was an adjunct faculty member at Saint Louis University. His personal experiences have informed several of his signature policy priorities, particularly his work on tax relief, disability services, and conservative legal causes throughout his career in public office.