Texas braces for Schatzline as secretary of state pick

Texas braces – With the midterms months away, Texas is preparing for a possible appointment shift: state Rep. Nate Schatzline, a 34-year-old pastor and election-denial ally, could replace outgoing Secretary of State Jane Nelson after her resignation, potentially bringing a m

For weeks, Texas election officials have been watching the same question hover over their inboxes and meeting rooms: who will take over as the state’s top elections authority, and what will that person do to the machinery that counts the votes?

The timing is tight. Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced her resignation earlier this month. and she is expected to remain in office until July 17. But as November approaches—when several closely contested midterm races could shape power in Washington—the governor’s next appointment could arrive without the kind of public scrutiny that typically comes with a vote or a long vetting process.

Many locals fear the frontrunner is state Rep. Nate Schatzline, a 34-year-old conservative lawmaker and pastor at a Fort Worth megachurch. For months. he has been linked to the post. and he has repeatedly promoted baseless claims about widespread fraud in American elections. In Texas, the governor picks the secretary of state, and it remains unclear when Republican Gov. Greg Abbott will make a formal announcement.

Chris McGinn, executive director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials, said he personally has not heard of another name floated. McGinn didn’t just speculate—he prepared. For his members, he drafted an analysis report on what Schatzline could mean for elections this year.

The report draws a sharp contrast between the kind of leadership counties have come to expect from the office and the direction Schatzline appears to represent. It notes that previous secretaries of state. including Nelson. have been institutionalists who prioritized stabilizing relationships with county officials. providing bipartisan-friendly training resources. and shielding local administrators from overt partisan warfare.

Schatzline, the report argues, would be different. “It is believed that Schatzline would represent a disruptor model of [secretary of state] leadership: highly ideological, responsive to grassroots activist demands, and comfortable using the office as an active enforcement agency.”

Schatzline, who is not running for reelection for his statehouse seat, did not respond to a request from NPR for an interview or comment. An Abbott spokesperson also did not respond to questions about Schatzline, saying only that “an announcement on an appointment will be made at a later date.”

County officials worry about what “disruptor” could look like on the ground. They say the job requires election administration experience—something Schatzline does not have. McGinn’s report points out the gap bluntly: “He has never run an election. managed a polling place. or operated a county voter registration database.” That lack of practical experience. the report warns. may lead the SOS office to issue administrative directives that are logistically impossible or highly disruptive on the ground.

That concern comes at a moment when Texas’s voting system is under pressure from the political stakes of the midterms. McGinn’s report notes that if Schatzline takes over. he would have his work cut out for him to quickly get up to speed on the intricacies of running voting in the state with the second-most registered voters in the country. while navigating several competitive races that could decide the balance of power in Congress.

Schatzline has spent the past year pressing a legislative focus on voting. In his first session in the Texas House, he authored no election-related bills. But in the 2025–’26 session, he authored or co-authored at least five election-related bills.

He has also aligned himself publicly with President Trump’s false views about elections. In an interview last year with John Herold. an election denial influencer who helped popularize a QAnon-adjacent election conspiracy theory after 2020. Schatzline said. “It’s not even debatable the amount of election fraud we had through mail-in ballots. It’s not even debatable that the machines were screwed up and that we’ve seen unbelievable amounts of election fraud.”.

Within Texas Republican power networks, Schatzline’s ties extend beyond voting rhetoric. He is an ally of the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in the state, Attorney General Ken Paxton. Schatzline voted against impeaching Paxton when Paxton was embroiled in scandal in 2023. and in 2025 Paxton posted online that he was “proud to call [Schatzline] a friend.”.

If Abbott appoints Schatzline, the timing could add another layer of tension. It is highly unusual for a state election official to leave their post this close to a federal election. But Nelson’s departure—after the Texas legislature is already out of regular session—means the governor’s appointee could serve in an acting capacity until next year. when the legislature meets and votes on a permanent replacement.

Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas, said that structure could mean less accountability this election cycle. “We don’t get to see if this person is qualified to do the job and do an actual job interview until they’ve gotten to do the most single most important function of this job. ” Gutierrez said. adding that this isn’t the first time Abbott has appointed a secretary of state in a similar way.

Gutierrez’s concern is not only about experience—it’s about what happens if the office leans into overt partisanship. He said any pick that pushes the job in that direction could have downstream effects this November, when the stakes are exceptionally high.

“This job is incredibly important,” Gutierrez said. “There’s just a really long list of things that someone in that position could do if they saw their job as being more political than just … supportive.”

For county officials, the next weeks will likely be defined less by what’s been promised and more by what’s expected to be implemented—training, directives, and oversight—right as voters prepare to show up.

Texas secretary of state Jane Nelson Nate Schatzline Greg Abbott elections county election officials midterms Ken Paxton Common Cause Texas Trump election claims