| Derek Slap | |
| State Senate: | Connecticut State |
| District: | 5th |
| Predecessor: | Beth Bye |
| Term Start: | March 1, 2019 |
| State House1: | Connecticut |
| District1: | 19th |
| Term End1: | February 28, 2019 |
| Term Start1: | January 5, 2017 |
| Successor1: | Tammy Exum |
| Predecessor1: | Brian Becker |
| Education: | Syracuse University (BA) University of Connecticut (MBA) |
| Party: | Democratic |
Derek Slap (born c. 1973) is an American politician, journalist, and businessman. He was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019, serving District 19. In 2019, Slap won a special election, and has since sat in the Connecticut State Senate from District 5.
Slap earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and international relations at Syracuse University, followed by a Master of Business Administration at the University of Connecticut School of Business.
Between 1998 and 2003, he was a news anchor and reporter at WVIT. He then served as a chief of staff for Democratic Party-affiliated members of the Connecticut Senate, as well as communications director for John DeStefano Jr. In 2014, Slap joined the UConn Foundation as vice president of external relations.[1]
In May 2016, Slap was nominated by the Democratic Party as its candidate for Connecticut House of Representatives District 19, after sitting legislator Brian Becker announced his retirement.[2] Slap faced Republican Party candidate Chris Barnes in the general election.[3] [4] Slap retained his seat in the state house in November 2018, running unopposed.[5] [6] Following Beth Bye's appointment to Ned Lamont's gubernatorial administration, Slap ran for her District 5 seat in the Connecticut Senate.[7] Slap faced Bill Wadsworth, Jeffrey Przech, and Mark Stewart Greenstein in the special election.[8] [9] Slap was sworn in as a state senator on March 1, 2019.[10] Within the Connecticut Senate, Slap became the deputy majority leader.[11] The Democratic Party endorsed Slap's 2020 bid for re-election to the state senate.[12] Slap defeated Republican Challenger Phillip Chabot in the general election on November 3, 2020.[13]