AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Secretary of State John Scott announced Monday he is resigning from his office, effective at the end of the year, and the governor already has someone lined up to take over.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday said he accepted Scott’s resignation and announced he would appoint Texas State Sen. Jane Nelson to fill the position. She will be the 115th secretary of state for Texas.

Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, introduces a bill during the session in the Texas Senate Monday, April 20, 2009, in Austin, Texas. Under her bill, passed unanimously by the Texas Senate, Texas school districts would no longer be allowed to give minimum grades to students. Under existing regulations, school districts can require teachers to give students better grades than they actually earn. In some schools, for example, a student who makes a zero or 10 could be given a grade of 60. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)
FILE: Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, introduces a bill during the session in the Texas Senate Monday, April 20, 2009, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Abbott’s office said Nelson did not run for re-election after serving three decades in the Texas Senate, including as chair of the Senate Finance Committee since 2014, where she was the first woman to serve in that role.

She was first elected to the Senate in 1992 after serving on the State Board of Education. Abbott’s office noted she was chair of the Senate Health Committee longer than anyone in history.

Nelson established the Cancer Research & Prevention Institute of Texas and passed over 30 bills to help victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, according to Abbott’s office.

You can read more about Nelson online here.

John Scott’s departure

Scott began his tenure as Texas secretary of state in October 2021, following an appointment from Abbott.

In his announcement, Scott said he would be returning to his private legal practice following his departure. During his time in office, Scott oversaw four statewide elections in 2022, as well as a forensic audit into the 2020 General Election in Texas. The findings of that audit will be released after he leaves office on Dec. 31.

“When I took office as Texas Secretary of State in October of last year, I did so with a singular goal and mission in mind: to help restore Texas voters’ confidence in the security of our state’s elections,” Scott wrote in his letter to Abbott.

This was no small task, and I approached my duty with humility, patience, and an open mind. By listening directly to the concerns of local election officials, voters, and grassroots activists from across the political spectrum, I was able to understand how to better educate Texas voters about their most sacred civic duty. I also gained a deep appreciation for the difficult, meticulous, and often thankless work of local election officials in safeguarding the integrity of the ballot box.

I am proud to say that Texas has made tremendous progress in restoring faith in our elections over the past year, and that the Texas Secretary of State’s office has developed a successful framework for analyzing and transparently reporting on election security through the forensic election audit process.

With a successful 2022 General Election in the rear view mirror, and the final findings of the 2020 Texas forensic audit soon to be released, I write to inform you that I intend to return to my private law practice at the beginning of the New Year.

Texas Secretary of State John Scott in his resignation letter to Gov. Greg Abbott

To read Scott’s full resignation letter, click here.