Keffer was born in San Angelo in Tom Green County in West Texas.[2] A lifelong Republican, Keffer is a former Eastland County GOP chairman.[1] A graduate of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Keffer is president of EBAA Iron Sales in Eastland. Keffer previously served[when?] as chairman of the House Ways and Means and Economic Development Committee.
Keffer was initially elected to the Texas House in 1996, when he narrowly unseated the Democratic incumbent John R. Cook, 21,922 (50.6 percent) to 21,409 (49.4 percent).[3]
In 2010, he co-founded the "Debt Busters Program" for the Texas Republican Party, an endeavor that brought solvency to party coffers under the administration of GOP state chairman Steve Munisteri.
A group called the Texas Conservative Roundtable's grading system dubbed him a "Lone Star Conservative Leader" in 2012 because of his pro-business voting record.[4]
Keffer was reelected without opposition to a ninth House term in the general election held on November 6, 2012.[5]
As of 2013, he was the chairman of the House Committee on Energy Resources and a member of the Natural Resources and Redistricting committees.[2]
In the Republican primary on March 4, 2014, Keffer won re-nomination with 14,160 votes (56.3 percent) against his lone opponent, Cullen Crisp, who received 10,992 votes (43.7 percent).[6]