Jeff Younger
This content was last updated Nov. 15, 2023, 9:27 p.m. UTC
Jeff Younger is a former political candidate in Dallas, Texas who ran for the Texas State House of Representatives in 2022 as a Republican. The majority of Younger’s public-facing actions in the past several years have revolved around the fallout of a custody battle with his ex-wife over his transgender daughter, Luna, and his attempts to force her to live as a boy.
The political power of single women, especially single mothers, must be diminished in order to regain traditional values, traditional family, and to reestablish social order.
Education and Credentials
Much of Younger’s personal information, education, and job history are currently in contention. Despite claims that he holds a doctoral degree, served in the Marines during the Iraq war, and worked as a mathematician at the University of North Texas, court records assert that most claims he made about his history are fabrications. His now-deactivated LinkedIn describes him as “author, thinker, technologist and entrepreneur.” His campaign website, also deactivated, instead claims he has worked in the oil industry for the last twenty years and lists no relevant political experience.
Political Backing
Younger’s run for the Texas State House received financial backing from several political entities, including the Defend Texas Liberty PAC and the now-defunct Conservative Action for Texas. Notably, the Defend Texas Liberty PAC’s primary benefactors are Tim Dunn, oil tycoon, and the Wilks Brothers, who fund conservative and alt-right groups such as PragerU and The Daily Wire.
During his 2022 political campaign, Younger wrote for the Texas Scorecard, a conservative news blog.
Custody Battle
Younger’s rise to prominence stems from his involvement in a years-long custody case over his children and conservative media coverage of his claims during the trial. In 2019, Younger’s claims of child abuse relating to the trans-affirming medical care being provided to his daughter Luna led Texas Governor Greg Abbott to order an investigation by Child Protective Services and the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Neither department found evidence of abuse.
After an attempt at shared custody starting in 2019, Younger eventually lost both custody and unsupervised visitation with his children in 2021. In 2022 NPR misrepresented the case by linking to an older story about shared custody, which did not reflect the final outcome.
The courts also imposed a gag order on both parents. Younger has repeatedly violated that gag order to speak with various media outlets about the case, which has led to his presentation of facts and the custody battle’s legal documents serving as the main sources of information about this period of his life.
Much of Younger’s fears expressed about his daughter’s transition revolve around the incorrect belief that she will be “chemically castrated” and that his ex-wife pressured their daughter on her gender identity. Luna, however, has identified herself as a girl from a young age of her own volition and her mother has publicly stated she does not intend to seek hormone therapy until medically approved, likely well after Luna reaches puberty.
Younger, by contrast, shaved Luna's hair to a masculine cut in defiance of her desire to grow it longer, forced her to wear boy’s clothing, and continues to deadname and misgender her at every given opportunity. Luna’s mother relocated her to California, prompting Younger to petition the courts to force them to return to Texas. They declined.
Political Campaign
Younger began a campaign for the Texas State House of Representatives with the intent to secure a Republican seat in 2022 for Texas House District 63. Much of his run was uneventful except for a visit to the University of North Texas, the institution he fraudulently claimed to work for as a professor, where a group of protestors drowned out his speech and forced Younger to leave well before the scheduled end of his speaking appearance.
Younger’s platform for his House run included opposition to all vaccines, the abolition of teaching critical race theory in schools, and the desire to block gender-affirming care for transgender minors in the state of Texas.
During the runoff for the Republican primary, Younger lost the race to Ben Bumgarner by a margin of 24 percent. He followed up his loss by appearing on Fox News to again violate his gag order in an interview with Tucker Carlson. He later expressed his belief that the Constitution was a mistake in a series of Tweets about his disillusionment with democracy.