Jeff Wentworth

Jeff Wentworth
Texas State Senate, District 25
Former Officeholder
In office
1993 - 2013
Party	Republican
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	1992
Term limits	N/A
Personal
Birthday	11/20/1940
Place of birth	Mercedes, TX
Profession	Attorney

Jeff Wentworth is former Republican member of the Texas State Senate representing District 25 from 1993 to 2013. He represents District 25.

Wentworth graduated from Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio, Texas and later graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.A. He later obtained a J.D. from Texas Tech University.

Wentworth is a self employed attorney and has served that position since 1970. Prior to his election to the state senate, he was a representative in the Texas House of Representatives from 1988 to 1992.

Wentworth was defeated by Donna Campbell in the July 31, 2012 Republican Primary runoff.

Committee assignments

2011-2012

Jeff Wentworth served on the following Texas Senate committees:

• Open Government, Select Committee Chair
• Veteran Affairs & Military Installations Committee Vice Chair
• Higher Education Committee
• Administration Committee
• Intergovernmental Relations Committee
• Redistricting, Select Committee
• Transportation & Homeland Security Administration

2009-2010

• Jurisprudence Committee, Texas State Senate
• Administration Committee, Texas State Senate
• Intergovernmental Relations Committee, Texas State Senate
• Transportation & Homeland Security Committee, Texas State Senate

District 25

Jeff Wentworth represents District 25, which includes the county of Comal, Texas.

Elections

2012

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2012

Wentworth ran in the 2012 election for Texas State Senate, District 25. Wentworth was defeated by Donna Campbell in the July 31 primary runoff election. They had advanced past the May 29 primary election.

Texas State Senate District 25 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jeff Wentworth (advanced to runoff) Incumbent	35.8%	27,050
Donna Campbell (advanced to runoff)	33.7%	25,470
Elizabeth Ames Jones	30.5%	23,085
Total Votes		75,605

2010

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2010

Wentworth won re-election to the 25th District Seat by defeating Libertarian candidate Arthur Maxwell Thomas in the general election on November 2, 2010.

Texas State Senate, District 25 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Jeff Wentworth (R)		192,965	82.17%
Arthuer Maxwell Thomas (L)		40,972	17.44%

2006

On Nov. 7, 2006, Wentworth won re-election to the 25th District Seat in the Texas State Senate, defeating opponents Kathleen Thomas (D) and James Thompson (L).

Wentworth raised $786,400 for his campaign while Thomas raised $26,963 and Thompson raised $0.

Texas State Senate, District 25 (2006)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Jeff Wentworth (R)		132,872	78.68%
Kathleen Thomas (D)		84,816	37.22%
James Thompson (L)		10,137	4.44%

Campaign donors

2010

Wentworth raised a total of $514,240 in 2010. Below are Wentworth's top 6 campaign contributors in the 2010 election:

Contributor	2010 total
Texas Trial Lawyers Association	$15,000
Baron & Budd	$10,000
Texas Association of Realtors	$10,000
Simmons, Harold C.	$8,000
Texans Medical Association	$7,500
Texans for Economic Development	$7,500

2006

In 2006, a year in which Wentworth was up for re-election, he collected $786,400 in donations.

His four largest contributors in 2006 were:

Donor	Amount
Marvin Rush	$55,000
Texas Association of Mortgage Attorneys	$25,000
Valero Energy	$15,000
BG Distribution Partners	$12,500

2002

In 2002, a year in which Wentworth was up for re-election, he collected $1,127,678 in donations.

His three largest contributors in 2002 were:

Donor	Amount
Texas Association of Realtors	$57,500
Texas Medical Association	$25,063
Texas Dental Association	$22,500

Legislative sessions

82nd (2011-2012)

Redistricting

Senator Wentworth expressed pessimism over the inherent partisanship in the redistricting process early on in the 2011 cycle, noting "It's pretty certain it will be another mess. Neither party handles this well." When asked how he thought the 2011 redistricting cycle would go, Wentworth noted that the stated goal of the congressional delegation "is for all the Republican and Democratic congressmen in the Texas delegation to come up with a map they can all agree on, that would protect every incumbent congressman regardless of party, and then divide the four new districts 2-2. Whether or not that actually happens remains to be seen. If it does, it will be the first time."

Acknowledging the impossibility of removing partisanship from the redistricting process, Senator Wentworth sponsored a bill (SB 22) during the special session to create an independent citizen redistricting commission. The aim of the bill was to make the process fairer and less politically charged. The Senate passed the bill on June 22, 2011, but it died in the House. The Senate passed similar bills in 2005 and 2007; both times the bills were defeated in the House.

Texas is among the states that must submit their redistricting plans to the federal government for approval under the auspices of the Voting Rights Act. The standard route for obtaining federal approval is for states to submit their plans to the Voting Rights Division of the Department of Justice; this is the route Texas had taken in the past. But Senator Wentworth noted from the beginning of the 82nd session that Texas would probably not submit their redistricting plans to the Justice Department for preclearance during the 2011 cycle, citing the partisanship of the Obama administration's DOJ as reason.

Wentworth said that Texas could use the alternate method of going directly to the courts and having their redistricting plans reviewed by a three-judge federal court in DC. "I don't believe it would be in Texas' interest to even go the route of trying to get precleared by the Department of Justice," explained Senator Wentworth. Speaking on the DOJ's Voting Rights Division he commented "They're not only Democrats, they're partisan Democrats. Before, you had a professional, career Voting Rights division [staff] at the Department of Justice. Now, you have a partisan Democratic Voting Rights division. Many of us, including me, are convinced that there's not a map that we can draw that they would approve, so it's a waste of time and money."

Endorsements

2012

In 2012, Wentworth's endorsements include the following:

• Congressman Lamar Smith
• Congressman Francisco Canseco
• Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson
• Former State Sen. Cyndi Krier
• House Speaker Joe Straus
• State Rep. John Kuempel
• State Rep. Lyle Larson
• State Rep. Doug Miller

• State Rep. Paul Workman
• Texas Association of Business
• Texas Medical Association
• Texas Association of REALTORS®
• Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers
• Parent PAC
• Texas State Rifle Association/NRA
• Texas Farm Bureau AgFund

Scorecards

Empower Texans Fiscal Responsibility Index

Empower Texans produces the Fiscal Responsibility Index as "a measurement of how lawmakers perform on size and role of government issues." The index uses "exemplar votes on core budget and free enterprise issues that demonstrate legislators' governing philosophy." Legislators are graded along a standard grading scale, receiving grades A through F based on their performance during the legislative session.

2011

Jeff Wentworth received a grade of F on the 2011 Fiscal Responsibility Index.

Personal

Wentworth was born on November 20, 1940 in Mercedes, Tx. He and his wife, Karla, have two children: Jason and Matthew.

External links

Suggest a link

• Official campaign website
• Jeff Wentworth legislative profile on Project Vote Smart
• Jeff Wentworth bio on Project Vote Smart
• Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000
• Jeff Wentworth on Facebook

References

Political offices
Preceded by NA	Texas Senate District 25 1993-2013	Succeeded by Donna Campbell (R)