Jeff Johnson (born November 11, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician. He was elected to the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...

in 2000 and served there from 2001 to 2007. Johnson left the legislature to run for state attorney general in 2006, but was defeated. Johnson served as a

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapol ...

commissioner for the 7th district from 2009 to 2021. He was elected as the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

man from Minnesota in April 2011. Johnson was the Republican nominee for

governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, losing to incumbent Democrat

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He was a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to 1 ...

, and again in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, losing to the Democratic nominee, U.S. Representative

Tim Walz Timothy James Walz ( ; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician and retired educator. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he has served as the 41st governor of Minnesota since 2019. Born in West Point, Nebraska, Walz ...

Early life, education, and career

Born in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Johnson graduated from

Detroit Lakes High School Detroit Lakes High School is a public high school located in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, United States. It serves approximately 870 students and is a part of the Detroit Lakes Public Schools system. The school colors are red and white and the athlet ...

in Minnesota in 1985. He received a triple Bachelor of Arts in economics and political science/history in 1989 from Concordia College and attended Georgetown University Law School, earning a J.D. in 1992. Johnson then practiced at the law firms of Lord, Bissell and Brook in Chicago and Parsinen, Kaplan & Levy in Minneapolis. He joined

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated, is a privately held American global food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865, it is the largest privately held corporation in the United States in ter ...

in 1998, practicing employment and labor law until starting his own company, Midwest Employment Resources, providing employment law and human resources services to companies throughout the country. In 2000, Johnson successfully ran for the Minnesota House of Representatives in district 34B, winning 62.8 percent of the vote for the seat vacated by Henry Todd Van Dellen, who had retired. In

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

he ran for state attorney general, but lost to the DFL candidate, Lori Swanson, with 40.72% of the vote.

Republican National Committee

In 2011, Johnson ran against Tom Emmer for the position of Minnesota's Republican National Committeeman, winning an upset victory. In 2012, he was elected without opposition to a full four-year term as Committeeman.

Minnesota House of Representatives

First elected in 2000, Johnson served as Assistant Majority Leader from 2003 to 2007 and was chair of Civil Law and Elections Committee in the 84th Legislative Session.

2014 Minnesota gubernatorial campaign

On May 5, 2013, Johnson announced that he was running for governor. He received the Republican Party endorsement at their May 2014 convention, and defeated four other candidates in the August 12 primary to become the party's nominee to challenge incumbent Governor

. He was defeated in the November general election by a six-point margin.

2018 Minnesota gubernatorial campaign

On May 10, 2017, Johnson announced that he would again seek the Republican endorsement for

. On June 2, 2018, the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the oldest active political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Republican Party’s platform is relatively moderate. The party’s main issues are economic growth, education, healthcare, civi ...

formally endorsed him at their state convention in Duluth. On August 14, in what many political commentators considered an upset, Johnson defeated former governor Tim Pawlenty in the primary election to become the party's nominee. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

then endorsed Johnson. He lost the general election to the Democratic nominee, U.S. Representative

, by a ten-point margin.

Controversy

In March 2010, the Hennepin County Board tabled a request by Sheriff

Rich Stanek Richard W. "Rich" Stanek (born February 2, 1962) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who served as the sheriff of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office from 2007 to 2019. Prior to serving as sheriff, Stanek served from 19 ...

to spend $426,150 to acquire the

cellphone spying Cellphone surveillance (also known as cellphone spying) may involve tracking, bugging, monitoring, eavesdropping, and recording conversations and text messages on mobile phones. It also encompasses the monitoring of people's movements, which can b ...

program KingFish. Johnson voted against tabling the motion, with the ''Star Tribune'' reporting that "Commissioner Jeff Johnson said he was convinced it was an important and useful law enforcement tool that wouldn’t violate privacy rights." Johnson was absent the day funding was finally approved. Johnson later wrote in a blog post that he was able to ask Stanek's office questions about KingFish and was "...quite comfortable with the answers" he received. In December 2013, Johnson publicly repudiated his KingFish vote. While admitting that he had supported it, he said it was one of the "votes I might choose to change".

References

External links

Campaign website for Governor in 2018

GOP website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jeff 1966 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians American labor lawyers Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota) alumni County commissioners in Minnesota Georgetown University Law Center alumni Living people Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Minnesota lawyers People from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Republican National Committee members Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Candidates in the 2018 United States elections