Earl Jeffrey Wentworth (born November 20, 1940) is a Republican former member of the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

from

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. He represented

District 25 A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

in the upper legislative chamber from January 1997 to January 2013. In addition, from 1993 to 1997, he represented

District 26 A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, having been initially elected to the state senate in 1992 to succeed fellow Republican Cyndi Taylor Krier, when she became the

county judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civi ...

Bexar County Bexar County ( or ; ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324, making it the state's fourth-most populous county. Bexar County ...

included northern portions of Bexar County, all of

Comal Comal may refer to: * COMAL, a computer programming language * Comal (cookware), a type of griddle Places * Comal River (Indonesia) * Comal County, Texas, U.S. * Comal River, Texas, U.S. * Comal Springs (Texas), U.S. See also

* {{disa ...

, Guadalupe, Hays, and Kendall counties, and a part of southern

Travis County Travis County is located in Central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat and most populous city is Austin, the state's capital. The county was established i ...

. From 1988 to 1993, Wentworth was a member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

from District 123. He won a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

on May 7, 1988, called when Republican Representative Kae T. Patrick of

resigned during his fourth term. In 2010, Wentworth wrote to Chairman Ron Blatchley (Chairman of the Texas State University System Board of Regents) a scathing letter from a sitting State Senator expressing his unhappiness with the Texas State University System Board of Regents decision to appoint State Rep. Brian McCall as the Chancellor of the Texas State University System over him. In the letter, Wentworth expressed a strong disagreement with McCall's appointment and repeatedly states that he authored the bill that changed the name of Southwest Texas State University (SWT) to Texas State University-San Marcos (TSU-SM) - an unpopular bill among the vast majority of SWT alumni with suggestions throughout he expected this appointment in part due to carrying this legislation, having it killed in one sub-committee, re-introducing the bill in a rush before another unrelated sub-committee to finally get it passed. Opposition to the bill was not limited to SWT alumni but also included dozens and dozens of Texas Southern University (TSU) faculty, students and alumni aligned with SWT alumni. In 2012, Wentworth was defeated in his bid for re-nomination. In the Republican

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

runoff held on July 31, he lost to Tea Party candidate

Donna Campbell Donna Sue Campbell ( Burrows; born September 17, 1954) is an American politician and physician who is the 25th District member of the Texas Senate. On July 31, 2012, she became the first person in Texas history to defeat an incumbent Republica ...

, who amassed 45,292 votes (66.2 percent) to Wentworth's 23,168 (33.8 percent). Wentworth and his wife Karla, a licensed professional interior designer, have two sons, Jason and Matthew Wentworth. After his term in the state Senate, Wentworth was appointed to the position of Precinct 3 justice of the peace by the Bexar County Commission.

Election history

Senate election history of Wentworth.Uncontested primary elections are not shown.

2012

2010

2006

2002

2000

1996

1994

1992

References

External links

Senate of Texas - Senator Jeff Wentworth
official TX Senate website
Project Vote Smart - Senator Earl Jeffrey 'Jeff' Wentworth (TX)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Jeff Wentworth
2006200420022000
campaign contributions * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wentworth, Jeff 1940 births Living people Presidents pro tempore of the Texas Senate Republican Party Texas state senators Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Texas justices of the peace People from Mercedes, Texas Politicians from San Antonio Texas A&M University alumni Texas Tech University School of Law alumni Texas lawyers 21st-century members of the Texas Legislature 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature