Nate Schatzline appointed as Texas election security adviser

Nate Schatzline, a former Texas House member and Baptist pastor, has begun serving as a top adviser to Governor Greg Abbott on election security issues. Schatzline, who has previously denied the results of the 2020 election, has expressed hard-line Christian nationalist views in recent public appearances.

In a speech to the Texas First Conservative Alliance, Schatzline identified the rise of Islam in Texas as an existential threat to Western society, stating, “I didn’t say ‘radical Islam.’ I said ‘Islam,’ because all Islam is radical.”

His stated policy goals include preventing mosques from serving as polling locations and working with state officials to reclassify Islam as a political ideology. Such a reclassification would potentially allow the state to target Muslim communities without violating religious liberty protections. Schatzline has also previously sponsored legislation regarding anti-drag measures and bookstore regulations.