[1] She faced no opposition in the 2012 Democratic primary for the 5th Senate district and went on to challenge Republican Steve Kirk in the general election.
[5] Woodhouse faced Nicholas Lash, a political newcomer inspired by senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, in the 2016 Democratic primary.
[8][9] In 2017, Woodhouse and fellow state senators Nicole Cannizzaro and Patricia Farley faced a recall effort led by Republican Stephen Silberkraus.
[12][13] A separate lawsuit was filed by the party challenging the validity of the recall itself, led by lawyers Marc Elias and Bradley Schrager.
[11][14] In April 2018, Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske declared that the recall effort had failed to receive enough signatures following a recount.