Karen Johnson is an American politician. She served as a Republican member of the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Senate. The House convenes in the legislative chambers at the Arizona State C ...

and the

Arizona Senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms w ...

from 1997 to 2008.

Biography

Early life

Karen Johnson was born in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...

.Arizona State Legislature: Karen Johnson
/ref>

Career

She worked in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. She served as a Republican state congresswoman and senator for the 18th district from 1997 to 2008.Matthew Benson
Ex-state Sen. Karen Johnson weighs 2010 governor race
'' The Arizona Republic'', April 16, 2009 In 2000, she introduced a bill to have Arizona secede from the Union if martial law was declared or guns confiscated. In 2008, she sponsored a bill to allow

concealed weapons Concealed carry, or carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), is the practice of carrying a weapon (usually a sidearm such as a handgun), either in proximity to or on one's person or in public places in a manner that hides or conceals the weapon's pr ...

on college and university campuses in Arizona.Randal C. Archibald
Arizona Weighs Bill to Allow Guns on Campuses
'' The New York Times'', March 5, 2008 She lost her senate seat to

Russell Pearce Russell Keith Pearce (June 23, 1947 – January 5, 2023) was an American far-right politician who was a Republican (GOP) member of the Arizona State Senate. He rose to national prominence as the primary sponsor of Arizona SB1070, a controvers ...

in 2008.

Personal life

She is married to Jerry Johnson. They have eleven children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Karen Living people Politicians from Mesa, Arizona Republican Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Republican Party Arizona state senators Women state legislators in Arizona Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women