Ted Kamel (left), Matt Schaefer (right)

The chairman of the Texas Freedom Caucus is one step closer to returning to Austin in January.

Rep. Matt Schaefer has fended off a primary challenge from former lawmaker Ted Kamel. Schaefer will run against independent Neal Katz in the Nov. 6 general election.

Schaefer won with 12,017 votes, or 73.3 percent, according to complete, unofficial returns. Kamel received 4,382 votes, or 26.7 percent. 

“To God be the glory for the good that came out of this campaign,” Schaefer said just before 11 p.m. on Tuesday. 

“It was really great talking to a lot of voters at the polls today,” he said. “It was really the most special part of the day … just having some really in-depth conversations. I talked to a lot of teachers, a lot of people, and got really good feedback.” 

Backed by the Empower Texans PAC and other Freedom Caucus members, Schaefer outraised and outspent Kamel throughout the primary campaign. Kamel largely self-funded his campaign and criticized Schaefer during the campaign for his fundraising from PACs.

On Tuesday night, Schaefer commended Kamel for working hard during the campaign. He said he has “the utmost respect for anybody who works that hard. He no doubt talked to a lot of voters and knocked on a lot of doors. That’s just a fact. He made his case, for sure.”

The person who wins the District 6 state representative seat in November will be the voice for most of Tyler and Smith County in the 180-member Texas House of Representatives come January.

Schaefer, 42, is the chair of the Texas Freedom Caucus, a group that is closely aligned with the tea party movement. He holds the endorsement of the Tyler-based political action committee Grassroots America — We the People.

Schaefer has said the term for the 2019 session will be “leadership.” He said he is excited that in January there will be a vote on who will be the next speaker of the House for the first time since 2009.

“I think the overall takeaway is that this is still a very conservative voter base in the Republican primary and we’ve had a voting record that is consistent with that,” Schaefer said. 

“State government should do a few things and try to have a smaller footprint in people’s lives,” he said. “Stick to the basics: public education, roads, criminal justice, the things that keep society functioning well.

“In Texas, look at why people are moving here and why our economy continues to do well,” he said. “It has something to do with the fact that we’ve had Republican leadership that has held the reins back on government.” 

On the statewide level, Schaefer said the 12-member Freedom Caucus did well during the Tuesday primary and would likely pick up more seats in the Texas Legislature in 2018. 

“I think this community benefits from my position of leadership with the Freedom Caucus, and I think, I certainly benefit from such a conservative community, so it’s really a reciprocal relationship,” Schaefer said. 

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