Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
lawyer and political figure who was chairman of the Harris CountyRepublican Party from 2002 to 2014. He was elected chairman of the county party for six two-year terms. After being ousted from the chairmanship of the county party in 2014, Woodfill launched two unsuccessful campaigns for the chairmanship of the
Texas Republican Party
The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the Texas affiliate of the Republican Party in the United States. It is currently chaired by Abraham George, who succeeded Matt Rinaldi in 2024. The party is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and is legall ...
. Woodfill is known for his
socially conservative
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...
views and activism, including his opposition to the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which was repealed in a 2015 referendum.
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...
Woodfill and Pressler, LLP; his law partner,
Paul Pressler
Paul S. Pressler (born 1956) is an American business executive. He is currently the chairman of the board of directors of eBay. He has previously held executive positions at companies such as Gap, Inc., The Walt Disney Company, and was a partner ...
, was formerly a state judge and prominent leader in the
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
Woodfill represented Pressler in a suit alleging inappropriate sexual conduct; the case settled in 2004 for $450,000. Pressler did little legal work for the firm, but had valuable political connections.Robert Downen Email sheds new light on Texas House candidate Jared Woodfill's role in Southern Baptist leader's sex abuse scandal ''Texas Tribune'' (January 23, 2024). Pressler was subsequently sued by a former member of a church youth group, who accused Pressler of raping him, beginning when he was 14 years old. Seven men ultimately accused Pressler of sexual misconduct. In 2023, Woodfill gave a deposition in the suit; he acknowledged that he was told in 2004 that Pressler had sexually abused a minor. Despite this, Woodfill continued his association with Pressler for nearly a decade more; they remained law partners until approximately 2012, when (according to Woodfill) Pressler retired and the firm was renamed the Woodfill Law Firm. Woodfill also testified that, in lieu of a salary, the law firm provided Pressler with a series of personal assistants, mostly young men who worked out of Pressler's home, two of whom also later accused him of sexual assault or misconduct. Woodfill continued to provide Pressler with youthful assistants until at least 2017. In 2016, a 25-year-old attorney at the firm, in an email to Woodfill, detailed sexual harassment that he said Pressler had subjected him to; the attorney resigned from the firm in May 2017, and accused Woodfill of failing to control Pressler's conduct. Woodfill's sworn statement in the deposition in 2023 contradicted his previous claims, since at least 2016, that he had no knowledge of sexual misconduct by Pressler targeting boys and young men.
Legal practice
Separately, in September 2018, the
State Bar of Texas
The State Bar of Texas (the Texas Bar) is an agency of the judiciary under the administrative control of the Texas Supreme Court. It is responsible for assisting the Texas Supreme Court in overseeing all attorneys licensed to practice law in ...
publicly reprimanded Woodfill, and ordered him to pay $3,490 in fees and expenses. The Bar determined that "Woodfill had direct supervisory authority over members of his firm who violated the disciplinary rules during the representation in a divorce, and Woodfill failed to take reasonable action."
Separately, in 2018, the Harris County District Attorney's Office investigated Woodfill in connection with allegations of two of his clients who accused him of misappropriating funds from client trust accounts. Woodfill's office was searched in November 2018 as part of the investigation. However, District Attorney Kim Ogg abruptly dropped the case, bringing no charges against Woodfill.
In 2024, one of the clients who alleged that Woodfill misappropriated her funds asked federal prosecutors to re-open the fraud case against him; the former client argued that Ogg had mishandled the investigation.
Republican Party politics
Harris County Republican Party chairman, 2002 to 2014
Woodfill was the chairman of the Harris County Republican Party from 2002 to 2014. During his twelve years as chair, Woodfill focused on
socially conservative
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...
causes; this emphasis, as well as Woodfill's management style, was controversial within the county party. Woodfill ran unopposed for reelection until 2010, when he was challenged by three others in an election focusing on allegations of fiscal mismanagement and "a blame game" over Republican losses in Harris County in the 2008 elections. Woodfill won reelection in 2010, but four years later was ousted from the chairmanship by engineer-turned-lawyer Paul Simpson, who heavily outspent Woodfill. Woodfill was endorsed by many Texas Republicans on the right wing, including Dan Patrick.
Subsequent activities
Anti-LGBT rights activism
Woodfill has been at the forefront of anti-LGBT movements in Houston and Texas. In 2015, Woodfill was a leading opponent of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) championed by Houston Mayor
Annise Parker
Annise Danette Parker (born May 17, 1956) is an American politician from the state of Texas. A Democrat, Parker served as the 61st Mayor of Houston, Texas, from 2010 until 2016. She also served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council ...
. The antidiscrimination ordinance prohibited "discrimination in city employment and city services, city contracts, public accommodations, private employment, and housing based on an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, or pregnancy."Justin Wm. Moyer Why Houston's gay rights ordinance failed: Fear of men in women’s bathrooms ''Washington Post'' (November 4, 2015). Woodfill opposed the prohibition against LGBT discrimination and worked to get a proposition challenging the ordinance onto the ballot. During the campaign, Woodfill and Steven Hotze likened gay people to Nazis and pushed the
LGBT grooming conspiracy theory
The LGBTQ grooming conspiracy theory is a far-right conspiracy theory and anti-LGBTQ trope alleging that LGBTQ people, and those supportive of LGBTQ rights, are engaging in child grooming and enabling child sexual abuse. Although the belief ...
. In November 2015, Houston voters repealed the ordinance; Parker said that the campaign against the ordinance was based on "fear-mongering and deliberate lies."
In 2017, as editor-in-chief of the group Conservative Republicans of Texas, Woodfill endorsed
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
History
There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
Lois Kolkhorst
Lois Winkelmann Kolkhorst (born November 4, 1964) is an American businesswoman and politician serving as a Republican member of the Texas State Senate. She was first elected to the state Senate from the 18th District in a special election held ...
's "
bathroom bill
A bathroom bill is the common name for legislation or a statute that denies access to public toilets by gender or transgender identity. Bathroom bills affect access to sex-segregated public facilities for an individual based on a determination o ...
" and criticized
Joe Straus
Joseph Richard Straus III (born September 1, 1959) is an American politician who served as the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019. A Republican, he represented District 121, which comprises northeastern Bexar Count ...
, the Republican
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
The speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives. The Speaker's main duties are to conduct meetings of the House, appoint committees, and enforce the Rules of the ...
, for not advancing the legislation.
In 2019, Woodfill represented two plaintiffs who filed an unsuccessful lawsuit seeking to block the City of Houston from extending spousal benefits to the same-sex spouses of city employees.
Unsuccessful campaign for Texas Republican Party chairmanship
In 2015, after
Texas Republican Party
The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the Texas affiliate of the Republican Party in the United States. It is currently chaired by Abraham George, who succeeded Matt Rinaldi in 2024. The party is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and is legall ...
chairman Steve Munisteri stepped down, Woodfill unsuccessfully sought to fill the vacancy. In secret balloting among 62 party officials in March 2015, Tom Mechler of Amarillo, an oil and gas consultant, decisively won on the second ballot, defeating Dallas County Republican Party chair Wade Emmert by one vote; Woodfill came in third place, and
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
man Robin Armstrong in last place. In 2016, Woodfill unsuccessfully challenged Mechler in a rematch for a full term as chairman of the Texas Republican Party; Woodfill ran a
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
campaign, with Steven Hotze as one of his leading supporters.Patrick Svitek Mechler, Woodfill Square Off Again to Lead GOP ''Texas Tribune'' (February 17, 2016). During the campaign, Woodfill criticized Mechler as being insufficiently vocal on conservative issues, while Mechler criticized Woodfill's tenure at the head of the Harris County party organization and said Woodfill, if elected, would institute "
purity test
A purity test is a self-graded survey that assesses the participants' supposed degree of innocence in worldly matters (sex, drugs, deceit, and other activities assumed to be vices), generally on a percentage scale with 100% being the most and 0% ...
s" that would damage Republicans and help Democrats. Woodfill withdrew at the state party convention after Republican delegates from 27 of the 31 state Senate districts supported Mechler's retention; Woodfill declared his own backing of Mechler, who was declared elected by a unanimous vote.
Greg Abbott
Gregory Wayne Abbott ( ; born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and jurist who has served since 2015 as the 48th governor of Texas. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served from 2002 to ...
's extension of the
early voting
Early voting, also called advance polling or pre-poll voting, is a convenience voting process by which voters in a public election can vote before a scheduled Election Day (politics), election day. Early voting can take place remotely, such as v ...
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and the Postal Service crisis, and were aimed at increasing voter turnout. Woodfill's bid to invalidate 127,000 votes cast through drive-through voting was rejected by both the
Texas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court o ...
and the federal courts. Woodfill described the suit as an attempt to prevent
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
from losing Texas, which he said would occur if "Harris County goes against Trump in large enough numbers." Woodfill subsequently supported legislation by Texas Republican legislators to ban drive-through voting.
Anti-vaccine litigation
In 2021, Woodfill filed an
anti-vaccination
Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine hesitancy by dissem ...
lawsuit on behalf of a group of employees of
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston Methodist Hospital is the flagship quaternary care hospital of Houston Methodist academic medical center. Located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, Houston Methodist Hospital was established in 1919 during the height of t ...
who refused to receive the
COVID-19 vaccine
A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19).
Knowledge about the structure and fun ...
complaint
In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...
falsely characterized the COVID-19 vaccines as "experimental" and
mRNA vaccine
An mRNA vaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine delivers molecules of antigen-encoding mRNA into cells, which use the designed mRNA as a blueprint to b ...
s as "gene modification"; in fact, the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, received emergency use authorization from the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
, and do not modify genes. Woodfill's lawsuit was dismissed; in rejecting the suit, U.S. District Judge
Lynn Hughes
Lynn Nettleton Hughes (born 1941) is an inactive senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He gained attention for being removed from a number of cases for showing bias and failin ...
wrote that the plaintiffs' claim that the COVID-19 vaccines were "experimental and dangerous" was false and irrelevant and that the plaintiffs' comparison of the hospital's vaccine requirement to
Nazi human experimentation
Nazi human experimentation was a series of medical experiments on prisoners by Nazi Germany in its concentration camps mainly between 1942 and 1945. There were 15,754 documented victims, of various nationalities and age groups, although the t ...
during
the Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
was "reprehensible." Woodfill unsuccessfully appealed to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* ...
, which in 2022 affirmed the judgment of the district court.
2024 campaign for state House
In 2023, Woodfill announced his run for state House in the 138th district, challenging incumbent incumbent Republican Lacey Hull. The district includes Jersey Village and other portions of the
Cypress
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America.
The word ''cypress'' ...
- Fairbanks (Cy-Fair) area. Although Hull is among the chamber's most conservative members, Woodfill accused her of being insufficiently conservative. Woodfill said that, if elected, he planned to run for House speaker.
Woodfill's primary challenge was backed by
Texas Agriculture Commissioner
The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) is a state agency within the state of Texas, which is responsible for matters pertaining to agriculture, rural community affairs, and related matters. It is currently headed by Agriculture Commissioner ...
Ken Paxton
Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. (born December 23, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the attorney general of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Texas Senate representing the e ...
. In 2023, when Paxton was
impeached
Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In Eu ...
and faced removal from office, Woodfill rallied behind Paxton, and raised money for his defense. During his 2024 campaign, Woodfill criticized Hull for voting to impeach Paxton. In the March 2024 Republican primary, Hull defeated Woodfill. Hull received 8,835 votes (61.15%) and Woodfill 5,613 votes (38.85%).Results: 2024 MARCH 5TH REPUBLICAN PRIMARY: STATE REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 138