Woodworth first ran for public office in the 1988 federal election, representing the Liberal Party in the riding of Waterloo,[1] finishing second to veteran Progressive Conservative MP Walter McLean.

During his tenure, Woodworth fought to prevent sex education from being taught in local Catholic high schools.

[4] However, Woodworth failed to receive the unanimous consent of Parliament required to reopen the debate after his previous motion was defeated.

[5] In the 2015 Canadian federal election, Woodworth lost his seat to Liberal candidate Raj Saini by a margin of nearly 10,000 votes.

He attempted a political comeback at Kitchener Centre in the 2019 Canadian federal election, placing third behind incumbent Raj Saini and Green Party candidate Mike Morrice.