Labor’s Blair Boyer urged scrutiny of the Liberal preselection process, suggesting the party rushed to field a candidate with extreme views and questioned vetting adequacy.

SA polling history shows strong local support for same-sex marriage from the 2017 national postal survey (about 62.5% in South Australia), providing context to the backlash.

The remarks surfaced just days before the state election, intensifying campaign pressure on the Liberal party.

Incumbent Labor MP Blair Boyer criticized Woodhouse’s remarks as shocking and extreme, signaling concerns about a rightward shift within the Liberal party.

Woodhouse appeared on the ElijahFire Christian podcast, where he criticized feminism, questioned gender/sex separation, and claimed same-sex marriage is not real.

The South Australian Liberal leader Ashton Hurn announced that Wright candidate Carston Woodhouse would no longer run, stating the party does not support his controversial comments.

Despite the initial backing, the Liberal Party confirmed Woodhouse will not be the candidate for Wright in the upcoming state election amid his statements denying same-sex marriage and alleging homosexuality opens demonic realms and that gender transitioning is an illusion.

The controversy comes as early voting approaches, putting Woodhouse’s remarks under heightened public scrutiny during the campaign.

A section of the SA Liberals’ website honoring Woodhouse was removed after the resurfacing of his controversial remarks.

In February 2025, Woodhouse argued on a podcast that the LGBTQ+ movement imposes its ideology and denied the possibility of sex change, calling such notions an illusion.

Video excerpts from the ElijahFire podcast feature Woodhouse describing feminism as demonic and reiterating his stance that same-sex marriage is not real and that homosexuality is demonic.

The Liberal Party defended Woodhouse’s right to his opinions on its site, while Wright remains historically a safe Labor seat since 1997.