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]
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]
In 2018, Woodall faced Democratic challenger Carolyn Bourdeaux.[17] Woodall was supported by the Great America Committee, a political action committee registered by Vice PresidentMike 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).
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]
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][failed verification]
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]