During their conversation, Carpenter said he wanted to run for public office someday, and Howell asked him "Why not just do it now?”.
[3][4][5] After the election ended in November 2014, he graduated from Wichita State University in December with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.
He currently serves as the House Majority Whip, a position he was elected to in December 2018, for a term starting in January 2019.
Representative Carpenter announced in October 2021 that he would be taking a leave of absence for the 2022 legislative session in order to complete a military obligation as an officer in the Kansas Air National Guard.
[6] Leah Howell, his predecessor's wife, was selected by Republican precinct committee members in the 81st District on Jan. 8, 2022 to serve in Representative Carpenter's place for the 2022 legislative session.