Abbott picks new secretary of state
If confirmed, Nelson will be Texas’ next chief election officer
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed retiring Sen. Jane Nelson on Tuesday to be the next secretary of state, a day after John Scott announced he would leave the post at the end of the year.
Nelson, who represents a redleaning district in the Dallas-fort Worth area, is the most senior
Republican in the state Senate, where she has served for almost 30 years. The businesswoman and former teacher, who announced she would not seek reelection last summer, has been the top budget writer for the past four sessions, the first woman to do so in the Legislature’s history.
“I look forward to this new chapter of public service and appreciate the confidence Gov. Abbott has placed in me to serve as Secretary of State,” Nelson said. “Voters expect fair elections with accurate, timely results, and I am committed to making that happen. Texans with all political views should have faith in our election system.”
If confirmed by her former colleagues in the Senate in the upcoming legislative session, Nelson would be the state’s chief election officer, assisting county election officials and enforcing election laws. It would be the first time one of Abbott’s appointees was confirmed since 2017, after several of his previous appointments of advisers and former employees hit snags.
“Sen. Nelson’s lifelong commitment to public service and deep understanding of state government will be assets in her new role ensuring the critical duties of Secretary of State are fulfilled,” Abbott said in a statement Tuesday. “Nothing is more important to a free society than fair elections, and the State of Texas will continue working to uphold and protect this right.”
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican who has served with Nelson since 2014, applauded the nomination.
“There is simply no one that the Texas Senate knows better than @Senjanenelson, & she brings with her a vast understanding of State Gov as @Txsecofstate,” Bettencourt said in a tweet.
Prior to joining the Senate, Nelson served on the State Board of Education for two terms from 1988 to 1992. Among her legislative accomplishments are the creation of the Cancer Research & Prevention Institute of Texas, a state agency that funds cancer research, and the direction of state lottery revenue to public education.