 Shafer was an early supporter of Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle and played a prominent role in his 2006 campaign.He served on Cagle's kitchen cabinet as an appointed member of the Senate Committee on Assignments.In 2011, when the Senate adopted new Senate Rules transferring the power of the lieutenant governor to the Senate Committee on Assignments, Shafer remained a member of the committee by virtue of being vice chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus.