Rob Woodall

William Robert Woodall III[1] (/ˈwʊdɔːl/ WUUD-awl; born February 11, 1970)[2] is an American attorney and politician who was the U.S. representative for Georgia's 7th congressional district from 2011 to 2021. The district included most of Gwinnett County, a suburban county northeast of Atlanta. A Republican, Woodall prior to being elected to Congress, worked for his predecessor, John Linder from 1994 to 2010, eventually becoming Linder's chief of staff. Woodall announced in February 2019 that he would not seek reelection to a sixth term in Congress.[3]

Rob Woodall
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 7th district
In office
January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2021
Preceded byJohn Linder
Succeeded byCarolyn Bourdeaux
Chair of the Republican Study Committee
In office
August 1, 2014 – January 3, 2015
Preceded bySteve Scalise
Succeeded byBill Flores
Personal details
Born
William Robert Woodall III

(1970-02-11) February 11, 1970
Athens, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationFurman University (BA)
University of Georgia (JD)

Early life, education, and career

Woodall was born in Athens, Georgia.[4] He attended both public and private grade schools, graduating from Marist School in 1988. He received a B.A. from Furman University followed by law school at the University of Georgia School of Law.[5] While attending law school, he spent summers working in a Washington, D.C. law firm. He left law school after the summer of 1994 to work for his hometown U.S. Representative, John Linder,[4] where he began working as a legislative correspondent and eventually served as Linder's chief of staff in 2000.[6] Woodall received his J.D. degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1998.[7] Woodall is a member of the Methodist Church.[8]

U.S. House of Representatives

2010 election

Main article: 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia § District 7

Woodall won the Republican primary with about 56% of the vote against Jody Hice.[9] He faced Democrat Doug Heckman in the 2010 General Election.[10] On November 2, 2010, Woodall defeated Heckman to win the general election.[11]

The top donors to Woodall's campaign were the Credit Union National Association, the Southern Company, the American Dental Association, and the Vision for Tomorrow Fund.[12]

Woodall addressed the U.S. House on October 26, 2011, calling for reduced regulations on businesses.[13]

2012 election

Main article: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia § District 7

In 2012, Woodall won the election with 62.16% of the 252,066 votes cast, against Steve Reilly (D).[14]

2014 election

Main article: 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia § District 7

In 2014, Woodall won the election with 65.39% of the 173,669 votes cast, against Thomas D. Wight (D).[15]

2016 election

Main article: 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia § District 7

In 2016, Woodall won the election with 60.38% of the 288,301 votes cast, against Rashid Malik (D).[16]

2018 election

Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia § District 7

In 2018, Woodall faced Democratic challenger Carolyn Bourdeaux.[17] Woodall was supported by the Great America Committee, a political action committee registered by Vice President Mike Pence.[18] The race proved to be unexpectedly competitive, and Woodall defeated Bourdeaux by only 433 votes after a recount. The race was the closest of the 2018 House elections.[19][20] It was the closest that a Democrat has come to winning this district since its creation in 1993 (it was numbered as the 4th District from 1993 to 1997, the 11th from 1997 to 2003, and has been the 7th since 2003).

Tenure

Woodall took office as part of the 112th United States Congress in January 2011. In July 2014, Woodall was elected chairman of the Republican Study Committee,[21] a group of conservative Republican lawmakers, succeeding Steve Scalise.[22] Woodall was replaced as chairman in November 2014 by Bill Flores (TX-17).

Committee assignments

Political positions

Interest group ratings

Woodall has a 66 percent rating from conservative policy advocacy organization Heritage Action for his voting record.[23]

Woodall has a "B" rating from marijuana legalization advocacy organization the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) for his voting history regarding cannabis-related causes.[24]

Economic issues

Woodall supports tax reform and FairTax.[25]

He voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[26] After the passage of the bill, Woodall stated that it "marks tremendous progress and is the fulfillment of a commitment made to the American people."[25]

Woodall was one of only six House Republicans in the 112th Congress who did not sign Grover Norquist's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge," stating that "my commitment to the Fair Tax and a common-sense tax overhaul makes it impossible for me to support the second component of the Pledge, which states that I must 'oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.'"[27][28]

Health care

Woodall opposes the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), voting to repeal it.[29]

Woodall co-sponsored the Sanctity of Human Life Act.[30] In October 2011, Woodall voted for legislation to restrict how private insurance companies listed on a public insurance exchange may offer abortion coverage.[31]

LGBT rights

Upon the legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.S., Woodall disagreed with the federal government's approach to deciding the issue for the entire nation, rather than allowing states to make the decision individually.[32]

Gun rights

Woodall was one of only six Republicans who opposed legislation that would require all states to honor the concealed weapons permits of other states, arguing that the bill was unnecessary because the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution already gives Americans the right to bear arms.[33]

National security

On July 24, 2013, Woodall voted against Representative Justin Amash's (R-Michigan) amendment to HR 2397 which would have ended the National Security Agency's ability to collect and store data on the phone calls of every American without a warrant.[34]

Mueller investigation

Woodall stated in June 2019 that he had not read the Mueller report about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.[35][36]

References
  1. "Representative William Robert Woodall (Rob) (R-Georgia, 7th) - Biography from LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com.
  2. "NationalJournal.com - Rob Woodall (R) - Tuesday, October 26, 2010". Archived from the original on 2010-10-29. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
  3. Zanona, Melanie; Barrón-López, Laura (7 February 2019). "Georgia Rep. Rob Woodall won't seek reelection". POLITICO.
  4. "Rob Woodall - Candidate for U.S. President, Republican Nomination - Election 2012". WSJ.com. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  5. "Biography". Congressman Rob Woodall. 2012-12-11. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  6. "Rob Woodall". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  7. "Meet Rob". Archived from the original on 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2010-09-06.
  8. Religious affiliation of members of 115th Congress (PDF) (Report). Pew Research Center. 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  9. "8/10/2010 - U.S. Representative, District 7". sos.ga.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  10. Young, Camie. "10 races set for runoffs". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  11. "11/2/2010 - U.S. Representative, District 7". sos.ga.gov. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
  12. "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart.
  13. "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart.
  14. "GA - Election Results - November 6, 2012". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  15. "GA - Election Results - November 4, 2014". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  16. "GA - Election Results - November 18, 2016". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  17. Hallerman, Tamar (July 5, 2017). "GSU professor jumps into expanding 7th District race with health care message". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  18. "Pence's PAC gives to 30 House members in second round of donations". POLITICO. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  19. Pathé, Simone; Pathé, Simone (2018-11-21). "Rob Woodall Wins by 433 Votes in Georgia's 7th District". Roll Call. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  20. "50 Interesting Facts About the 2018 Election". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved Apr 10, 2019.
  21. "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  22. "Woodall to Chair Republican Study Committee". 9 July 2014.
  23. "Heritage Action Scorecard". Heritage Action Scorecard. Heritage Action for America. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  24. "Georgia Scorecard". NORML. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  25. Yeomans, Cur (23 December 2017). "POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Gwinnett's Republican representatives in Washington celebrate tax bill passage". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  26. Almukhtar, Sarah (19 December 2017). "How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  27. "The Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers, 112th Congressional List" (PDF). Americans for Tax Reform. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  28. Alexander Bolton (2 June 2011). "Some GOP no's on 'pledge' could complicate debt talks". The Hill. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  29. Tamar Hallerman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Georgia 7th: Woodall opponent homes in on Obamacare repeal vote in first ad". ajc. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  30. Yeomans, Curt (2011). "POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Hice bill declares human life begins at fertilization". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  31. "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Archived from the original on 2011-11-19. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  32. Crawford, Tom. "No massive resistance here to gay marriage decision". Tom Crawford's Georgia Report. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  33. Kasperowicz, Pete (16 November 2011). "House approves concealed weapons bill".
  34. "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 412". Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  35. Colby Hall (10 June 2018). "GOP Rep. Rob Woodall Proudly Defends Not Reading the Mueller Report to MSNBC's Kasie Hunt". Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  36. Campisi, Jessica (2019-06-10). "MSNBC host presses GOP lawmaker on why he didn't read Mueller report". TheHill. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
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