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, p ...

politician and

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

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. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral leg ...

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 Dividi ...

and of

German descent Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The constitution of Germany, implemented in 1949 following the end of World War ...

, Schaefer went to the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

and the

Atlanta College of Art The Atlanta College of Art (ACA) was a private four-year art college located in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Founded in 1905, it was the oldest art college in the Southeastern United States, Southeast when it was sold out by the ...

; she then received her bachelor's degree from

Wesleyan College Wesleyan College is a Private university, private, Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's Colleges in the Southern United States, women's college in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the fi ...

Political career

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

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, before running as the Republican Party's nominee for Lieutenant governor of Georgia 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Pierre Howard. She unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for

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

in 1998, finishing in third place behind Guy Millner 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. ...

with 7.7% of the vote in the party's

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

. 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 Mike Collins, and includes a large swath of urban and rural territory between Atlanta and A ...

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 movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

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

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

in public places. She was a senior official in the

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church, having served as a First Vice President of the

Georgia Baptist Convention The Georgia Baptist Mission Board is the executive committee of the Georgia Baptist Convention, which is a voluntary association of Baptist churches in the Georgia (U.S. state), U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is one of the List of ...

Murder

Schaefer was found dead at her home in Turnerville, Georgia in

Habersham County Habersham County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Georgia, Northeast region of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 46,031. The county seat is C ...

on March 26, 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 where an individual intentionally kills one or more people before killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms: * Suicide after or during murder inflicted on others ** Suicide af ...

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.

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 women politicians History of women in Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century members of the Georgia General Assembly 2010 murders in the United States