State Senator - Williamson County

Senator Charles Schwertner

Texas Senate District 5

Senator Charles Schwertner, MD, is a lifelong Republican, a sixth-generation Texan, and a committed fighter for conservative values. Since 2013, Dr. Schwertner has represented Senate District 5, a ten-county region of central and east Texas that includes Brazos, Freestone, Grimes, Leon, Limestone, Madison, Milam, Robertson, Walker, and Williamson counties.

A practicing orthopedic surgeon, Schwertner is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. After medical school, Schwertner and his family relocated to Williamson County to start a successful orthopedic medical practice near the small, central Texas town of Schwertner, that bears his family name.

In 2010, Schwertner was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as the representative for House District 20. Two years later, Schwertner campaigned for an open seat in the Texas Senate, handily winning his Republican Primary with over 75 percent of the vote.

As Chairman of the powerful Senate Committee on Business and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Constitutional Issues, Schwertner oversees a number of critical policy areas for the state of Texas, including electric utilities, insurance, banking, alcoholic beverage regulation, technology, and telecommunications. Schwertner also serves as a member of the Senate Committees on Education, Finance, State Affairs, and on the Legislative Budget Board. Schwertner was also appointed to Chair the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, a twelve-member panel of lawmakers and public appointees that conduct a comprehensive, periodic review of state agencies to eliminate wasteful spending and make government more responsive and efficient.

Throughout his time in the Texas Legislature, Schwertner has championed a host of diverse and important policy initiatives. Last session, Schwertner passed sweeping reforms to the regulation and oversight of the state’s electrical grid following the power outages caused by Winter Storm Uri (2021). He also authored one of the strongest Constitutional Carry laws in the nation to allow law-abiding adults to carry a handgun for their protection without the need for a government permit. In prior sessions, Schwertner has fought to expand access to mental health services, reform the state foster care system, strengthen landowner rights, cut taxes for small businesses, protect seniors from abuse, and lower tuition at public universities.

Schwertner and his wife Belinda (an obstetrician/gynecologist and current law student) reside in Georgetown. They have three adult sons attending college: Carson, Zachary, and Matthew.