After seven terms in the Texas House, state Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, one of the chamber's staunchest conservatives, told people in his district last year that he was ready to reel it in.

The 76-year-old retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel said he changed his mind when he met the man who wanted to follow in his footsteps. Republican Matt Schaefer, a lawyer and a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, took his resume to Berman and asked for his support.

“He was extremely arrogant, and I wasn’t going to give my seat up to him ...

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