Nancy Schaefer was an American politician and conservative activist, who served in the Georgia State Senate from 2004 to 2008.

Born in Clayton

Clayton, Georgia

Clayton is a city in Rabun County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,019 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Rabun County and is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains.-History:...

, Schaefer became a prominent conservative political activist in Georgia in the 1980s. She subsequently ran for Mayor of Atlanta in 1993, before running as the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

's nominee for Lieutenant governor of Georgia

Lieutenant Governor of Georgia

The Lieutenant Governor of Georgia is a constitutional officer of the state, elected to a 4-year term by popular vote. Unlike some states, the lieutenant governor is elected on a separate ticket from the state Governor....

 in 1994, where she lost to incumbent Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Pierre Howard

Pierre Howard

Pierre Howard was the ninth Lieutenant Governor of the US state of Georgia.-Background:He came from a political family...

. She unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Governor in 1998, finishing in third place behind Guy Millner

Guy Millner

Guy W. Millner 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....

 and Mike Bowers

Mike Bowers

-Early Life:Michael Joseph Bowers was a long-serving Attorney General of Georgia before switching parties and mounting an unsuccessful campaign for Georgia Governor. He now practices law with Balch & Bingham in Atlanta, Georgia.Bowers graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1963 and...

 with 7.7% of the vote in the party's primary election

Primary election

A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

. 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

Jim Butterworth (Georgia politician)

Jim Butterworth is the adjutant general of Georgia National Guard. Butterworth replaced Maj. Gen. Terry Nesbitt who retired after more than 40 years of service...

 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

Georgia's 10th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located in the northeastern part of the state, the district includes the cities of Athens, Evans, Augusta, Watkinsville, and Toccoa...

 from Paul Broun

Paul Broun

Paul Collins Broun, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party and the Tea Party Caucus.-Early life, education and career:...

 in 2008, but withdrew her candidacy before the primary election. Throughout her career as an activist and politician, she was a champion of Christian conservative causes, opposing abortion and gay rights and promoting the display of the Ten Commandments

Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...

 in public places. Upon her death, fellow State Senator Ralph Hudgens

Ralph Hudgens

Ralph Hudgens is the Commissioner of Insurance of the state of Georgia. Hudgens served in the Georgia House of Representatives as well as the Georgia Senate. He has been a delegate to numerous Republican Party events...

 eulogized her as "almost like a rock star of the Christian right". She was a senior official in the Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 church, having served as a First Vice President of the Georgia Baptist Convention

Georgia Baptist Convention

The Georgia Baptist Convention is an autonomous association of Baptist churches in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention...

.

Schaefer died at her home near Turnerville in Habersham County

Habersham County, Georgia

Habersham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on December 15, 1818, and named for Colonel Joseph Habersham. As of 2000, the population was 35,902. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 42,272. Clarkesville is the county seat.Chartered in 1823, the...

 on 26 March 2010 with her husband of 52 years, Bruce Schaefer. Police concluded the deaths to have been a murder–suicide perpetrated by her husband.
Before her death, she published and promoted the report "The Corrupt Business of Child Protective Services", leading to conspiracy theories surrounding her murder.