Nancy Smith Schaefer (28 June 193626 March 2010) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

legislator who served in the

Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia ...

from 2004 to 2008.

Education

Born in

Clayton, Georgia Clayton is a city in Rabun County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 2,003 at the 2020 census. The county seat of Rabun County, it is in the Blue Ridge Mountains. History The area that eventually became Clayton was called the Dividings ...

and of

German descent , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, Schaefer went to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and the

Atlanta College of Art The Atlanta College of Art (ACA) was a private four-year art college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1905, it was the oldest art college in the Southeast when it was sold out by the Woodruff Arts Center board of directors to the Sava ...

; she then received her bachelor's degree from

Wesleyan College Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women. History The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the Geo ...

Political career

Schaefer became a prominent conservative political activist in Georgia in the 1980s. She subsequently ran for

Mayor of Atlanta Here is a list of mayors of Atlanta, Georgia. The mayor is the highest elected official in Atlanta. Since its incorporation in 1847, the city has had 61 mayors. The current mayor is Andre Dickens who was elected in the 2021 election and took o ...

in 1993, before running as the Republican Party's nominee for

Lieutenant governor of Georgia The lieutenant governor of Georgia is a constitutional officer of the State of Georgia, elected to a four-year term by popular vote. Unlike in some other U.S. states, the lieutenant governor is elected on a separate ticket from the Governor of ...

in 1994, where she lost to incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Pierre Howard Pierre DuVinage Howard, Jr. (born February 3, 1943) is an American politician. He served as the ninth Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia. Background Howard was born into a political family, the son of Pierre DuVinage Howard (1912 ...

. She unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in 1998, finishing in third place behind

Guy Millner Guy W. Millner (born February 16, 1936) is an American multi-millionaire businessman who ran as a Republican for Governor of Georgia in 1994, United States Senator from Georgia in 1996 and Governor of Georgia in 1998, losing all three races. M ...

and

Mike Bowers Michael Joseph Bowers (born October 7, 1941) was the Attorney General of Georgia from 1981 to 1997 before mounting an unsuccessful campaign for Georgia Governor. Bowers was a Democrat through 1994, at which time he joined the Republican Party. B ...

with 7.7% of the vote in the party's

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

. She was elected to the State Senate in 2004 for the northern-state 50th district, where she served until she was defeated by Jim Butterworth in a Republican primary in 2008. She had also sought to wrest the Republican nomination for

Georgia's 10th congressional district Georgia's 10th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. The district is currently represented by Republican Jody Hice, and includes a large swath of urban and rural territory between Atlanta and Augusta ...

from

Paul Broun Paul Collins Broun Jr. (born May 14, 1946) is an American physician and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a member of the Tea Party Caucus. Broun unsuccess ...

in 2008, but withdrew her candidacy before the primary election.

Beliefs

Throughout her career as an activist and politician, she was a champion of Christian conservative causes, opposing the department of Child Protective Services (a.k.a. Department of Children and Families). After four years of investigation, on November 16, 2007 she published a report entitled "The Corrupt Business of Child Protective Services". After publishing the report, in a press conference she exclaimed that the report caused her to lose her position as a Georgia State Senator. In addition, she stood firmly in her support of the

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

agenda, and also opposed gay marriage. In expressing her Christian beliefs she promoted the display of the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

in public places. She was a senior official in the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

church, having served as a First Vice President of the

Georgia Baptist Convention The Georgia Baptist Mission Board is an association of Baptist churches in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Formed in 1822, it was one of the original nine state conve ...

Murder

Schaefer was found dead at her home in

Turnerville, Georgia Turnerville (also Tallula) is an unincorporated community in Habersham County, Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United Sta ...

Habersham County Habersham County is a County (United States), county located in the Northeast Georgia, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 43,041. The county s ...

on 26 March 2010 with a single gunshot wound to her back along with her husband of 52 years, Bruce Schaefer, who was found with a single gunshot wound to his chest. Police concluded the deaths to have been a

murder–suicide A murder-suicide is an act in which an individual kills one or more persons either before or while killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms: * Murder linked with suicide of a person with a homicidal idea ...

perpetrated by her husband, but the motive for the murder was unclear and never established. A few years before her death she had published and promoted the report "''The Corrupt Business of Child Protective Services",'' leading to conspiracy theories surrounding her murder. Upon her death, fellow State Senator Ralph Hudgens eulogized her as "almost like a rock star of the

Christian right The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaefer, Nancy 1936 births 2010 deaths Republican Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Women state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) Murder–suicides in Georgia (U.S. state) People from Clayton, Georgia Atlanta College of Art alumni University of Georgia alumni Wesleyan College alumni People from Habersham County, Georgia People murdered in Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians