Senator John Ashcroft - Contact Information

John Ashcroft served as a Senator from Missouri in the United States Congress from 1995 to 2001. A member of the Republican Party, John Ashcroft contributed to the legislative process during 1 term in office.

John Ashcroft’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Senate, John Ashcroft participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and former politician who served as the 79th United States attorney general under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. A Republican from Missouri, Ashcroft represented the state in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2001, and held statewide office as the 29th auditor (1973–1975), 38th attorney general (1976–1985), and 50th governor of Missouri (1985–1993). He later founded The Ashcroft Group, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm. Ashcroft graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1960 before receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Yale College and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. After unsuccessfully running for the U.S. House of Representatives, he was appointed Missouri State Auditor in 1973, before being defeated for re-election in 1974. He then served two consecutive terms as Missouri Attorney General and as Missouri Governor (a historical first for a Republican candidate in the state). He is the only Republican to serve two full consecutive terms as governor to date. He also served one term as a U.S. Senator from Missouri until losing a race for a second term in 2000. Ashcroft had early appointments in Missouri state government and was mentored by John Danforth. He has written several books about politics and ethics. After George W. Bush was elected president in 2000, he selected Ashcroft to serve as U.S. Attorney General. As Attorney General, Ashcroft was a key supporter of the USA Patriot Act following the September 11 attacks and the use of torture on suspected terrorists. Ashcroft stepped down as Attorney General in February 2005 and was replaced by Alberto Gonzales. Since 2011, Ashcroft sits on the board of directors for the private military company Academi (formerly Blackwater) and is a professor at the Regent University School of Law, a conservative Christian institution affiliated with the late televangelist Pat Robertson; he has also been a member of the Federalist Society. His son, Jay Ashcroft, is also a politician who served as Secretary of State of Missouri from 2017 to 2025 before a failed bid for governor in 2024.