Eric Yost

Eric R. Yost (born September 4, 1955) is a former American politician, attorney and judge from Kansas. He served in both houses of the state legislature, as a state district judge, and as a county counselor. In 2024, Yost ran for district judge again, a position he had held from 1997-2015, and was unopposed.

Yost was born in Wichita, Kansas and attended local schools. He went to Wichita State University as an undergraduate, studying journalism.

Starting in high school, Yost was active in politics, and was a regional coordinator of Young Kansans for Dole in Bob Dole’s campaign for re-election in 1974. In 1975, Yost served as a White House intern under President Gerald R. Ford.

After graduating from Wichita State, Yost was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1978. He was re-elected in 1980, ultimately serving two terms in the House. In 1982, he left the House to attend the University of Kansas School of Law, and he was elected to the Kansas State Senate from the 30th district in 1984.

Yost served two terms in the state senate, and served as senate vice president for four years. He made an unsuccessful run for Kansas's 4th congressional district in 1992. Kansas lost one of its congressional seats in 1992 following apportionment, and Yost found himself running against two incumbents that year in a combined district. He defeated GOP Rep. Dick Nichols in the Republican primary, but lost to Democrat incumbent Dan Glickman in the general election.

In 1996, Yost was elected as a district judge for Sedgwick County, and he spent nearly two decades there, leaving his judgeship in 2015 to become county counselor for Sedgwick County.

In 2018, disputes erupted over a Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiry into alleged illegal behavior by several county commissioners regarding the firing of County Manager Mike Scholes. Yost was accused of violating attorney-client confidentiality when he warned Scholes that he was being fired for an illegal reason. Yost resigned soon thereafter as county counselor.

After leaving the county, Yost spent several years as a mediator, and was assigned cases by local judges to investigate and to make recommendations to the court. In 2024, Yost decided to run for district judge again in Sedgwick County, and was unopposed. He will close his law office in January, 2025 when he is sworn in as district judge.