SMITH COUNTY, Texas — Incumbent Republican Matt Schaefer has won his re-election race against Democratic challenger Julie Gobble.
He is married to Jasilyn, who is the director of the Apache Belles of Tyler Junior College. They are parents to two young children, a daughter Quincy and a son Graham.
Schaefer is currently a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve and in 2010 he served in Afghanistan near the Iranian border with a provincial reconstruction team. In the private sector, he is self-employed working in real estate and law. He was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in November 2012 after successfully challenging the late Rep. Leo Berman in the Republican primary.
He has degrees in finance and law from Texas Tech University.
“Growing up during hard financial times meant Matt learned to work at an early age,” according to Schaefer’s campaign website. “His first job was at 13 when he and his older brother Sean hoed weeds in peanut fields for minimum wage. Throughout high school Matt worked mowing lawns, fixing fences, hauling hay, and sacking groceries. He played football at Cisco Junior College before heading to Texas Tech. Matt paid his living expenses in college by running his own window washing business, working at an iron foundry and as a bank clerk.”
Schaefer made headlines across the nation in September 2019 following a mass shooting in the Midland-Odessa area. Seven people were killed and at least 20 more were injured.
After the shooting, Schaefer took to Facebook to express his thoughts on the string of incidents which was met with mixed reactions:
“’Do something!’ is the statement we keep hearing. As an elected official with a vote in Austin, let me tell you what I am NOT going to do. I am NOT going to use the evil acts of a handful of people to diminish the God-given rights of my fellow Texans. Period. None of these so-called gun-control solutions will work to stop a person with evil intent. I say NO to “red flag” pre-crime laws. NO to universal background checks. NO to bans on AR-15s, or high capacity magazines. NO to mandatory gun buybacks. What can we do? YES to praying for victims. YES to praying for protection. YES to praying that God would transform the hearts of people with evil intent. YES to fathers not leaving their wives and children. YES to discipline in the homes. YES to supporting our public schools. YES to giving every law-abiding single mom the right to carry a handgun to protect her and her kids without permission from the state, and the same for all other law-abiding Texans of age. YES to your God-given, constitutionally protected rights. YES to God, and NO to more government intrusions."