The Texas Senate has confirmed former state Sen. Jane Nelson as Texas’ 115th secretary of state. Nelson is the fourth appointee to the position since 2018 and succeeds John Scott, who resigned at the end of 2020. As secretary of state, Nelson will oversee elections, maintain voter records, enforce campaign finance laws, handle Texas’ international affairs, and manage Texas’ business filings, financial records, and more.
Nelson previously served as a state senator for 30 years and was the longest-serving and highest-ranking Republican in the Senate. She also led the Senate Finance Committee, which writes the state budget. In 2021, Nelson announced that she would not seek re-election and was replaced by Sen. Tan Parker.
Nelson thanked her former Senate colleagues and Gov. Greg Abbott for their support in a statement, saying “I will work to safeguard honest and accurate elections in all 254 counties across our great state, while continuing to support business owners by ensuring that government moves at the speed of Texas business, not the other way around.”
