Timothy Peter Johnson (December 28, 1946 – October 8, 2024) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the United States representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 1987 to 1997 and in the South Dakota Legislature from 1979 to 1987. Johnson is the last Democrat to hold statewide and/or congressional office in South Dakota. He and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin are also the last Democrats to win a statewide election in South Dakota.
Early life and education
Johnson was born in Canton, South Dakota, the son of Ruth Jorinda (née Ljostveit), a homemaker, and Vandel Charles Johnson, an educator. He had Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish ancestry. Raised in Vermillion, Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1969 and a Master of Arts in 1970, both in political science, from the University of South Dakota, where he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.
After doing post-graduate studies at Michigan State University from 1970 to 1971, a period during which he worked for the Michigan Senate, Johnson returned to Vermillion to attend the University of South Dakota School of Law and earned his Juris Doctor in 1975; he went into private practice immediately thereafter. He did not take the bar exam, as he was admitted to the South Dakota bar under the state's diploma privilege.
thumb|left|Johnson teaching a college class on the legislative process
Early political career
Johnson served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 1979 to 1982 and in the South Dakota Senate from 1983 to 1986. He served as Clay County deputy state's attorney in 1985 during his tenure in the South Dakota Senate.
U.S. House of Representatives (1987–1997)
Elections
Johnson was elected in 1986 to represent South Dakota as the at-large member of the United States House of Representatives, succeeding Tom Daschle, who had left the House upon his election to the U.S. Senate. Johnson was reelected in 1988, 1990, 1992, and 1994. Between 1991 and 1994, he served as a regional whip for the Democratic Party. He left the House in 1997, when his Senate tenure began.
thumb|left|Official Congressional portrait, 1995
House tenure
During his first term, Johnson introduced more legislation than any other freshman member of the House.
Johnson authored the Mni Wiconi Project Act of 1988, which authorized construction of a water project serving an area of southwestern South Dakota that included the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, an area that had long suffered low water supplies and poor water quality. In subsequent years, Johnson authored and enacted legislation to expand the Mni Wiconi Rural Water Project service area.
Johnson's Mid Dakota Rural Water System Act of 1991 was enacted, and the project was completed in 2006 and serves more than 30,000 residents of east-central South Dakota.
Johnson first authored legislation requiring country-of-origin labeling for meat and other agricultural products in 1992. He continued the effort through his Senate tenure until the requirement was enacted in 2002 as part of the Farm Bill reauthorization.
thumb|right|Johnson next to a stack of constituent mail
Committee assignments
- Committee on Agriculture
- Committee on Public Works and Transportation (renamed Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 1995)
U.S. Senate (1997–2015)
Elections
1996
Johnson narrowly defeated three-term Senator Larry Pressler in the 1996 U.S. Senate election. This made him the only Senate candidate that year to defeat an incumbent in a general election, during a year that saw 13 open seats.
thumb|right|Johnson, Barbara, and [[Tom Daschle in the U.S. Capitol, 1997]]
2002
thumb|right|Johnson and Barbara at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]]
In 2002, Johnson was reelected by 524 votes over John Thune, who had succeeded him in South Dakota's at-large congressional district. The race was widely seen as a proxy battle between George W. Bush, who won South Dakota comfortably in 2000, and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Johnson won 94% of the vote among the Oglala.
thumb|left|2002 Senate campaign logo
2008
Johnson sought reelection in 2008 after recovering from a serious health condition. Early polls showed him likely to defeat Republican nominee Joel Dykstra, and he did, with 62.5% of the vote. In January 2008, Johnson endorsed Barack Obama for president in the Democratic primary.
Johnson did not seek reelection in 2014.
Senate tenure
Johnson's Senate career began in January 1997. In the Senate, he continued to focus on water infrastructure, supporting projects that delivered clean drinking water to communities in South Dakota and surrounding states.
The Fall River Rural Water Users District Rural Water System Act of 1998 authorized the Bureau of Reclamation to construct a rural water system in Fall River County of South Dakota. After years of drought, residents in the southeastern area of that county had been left without a suitable water supply, and many either hauled water or used bottled water because of poor water quality.
The Lewis and Clark Rural Water System Act of 1999 authorized construction of a water delivery system spanning a broad area of southeastern South Dakota, northwestern Iowa, and southwestern Minnesota. The system joined 22 rural water systems and communities. The project was intended to bring clean, safe drinking water to 180,000 people in the Lewis and Clark service region. The Perkins County Rural Water System Act authorized the Bureau of Reclamation to construct a rural water system in Perkins County.
In 2010, Johnson secured a $200,000 Save America's Treasures grant from the National Park Service for restoration of the Sioux Falls State Theatre lobby, with a matching local contribution bringing the total project funding to $400,000.
Johnson introduced a bill establishing the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in western South Dakota. At the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, visitors can learn about the Cold War and the nuclear missiles that threatened massive destruction while also serving as a deterrent to war.
Johnson chaired the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. In that role, he secured full and timely funding for veterans' health care for the first time in 21 years, pressing for enactment of legislation providing advance appropriations for veterans' health care so that VA medical centers would no longer face funding gaps at the start of each fiscal year. He also directed numerous appropriations projects to Ellsworth Air Force Base and the South Dakota Army National Guard.
When the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closure of Ellsworth Air Force Base in 2005, Johnson worked alongside Senator John Thune to make the South Dakota delegation's case to keep the base open. The commission preserved the base by an 8–1 vote.
Banking Committee
During the 111th Congress (2009–2011), Johnson chaired the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit of the Senate Banking Committee, while Christopher Dodd served as full committee chairman. In that role he held hearings on the financial crisis's effects on community banks and credit unions and took part in drafting the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which became law in July 2010.
When Dodd retired and Johnson became chairman of the full committee in 2011, his primary mandate was overseeing implementation of Dodd-Frank across federal financial regulators. He convened a series of oversight hearings beginning in May 2011 to monitor the law's rollout.
During his chairmanship Johnson pressed for confirmation of Obama's nominee for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director, Richard Cordray, bringing it to a committee vote despite Republican opposition. The committee approved Cordray's nomination on a party-line 12–10 vote, and he was confirmed by the full Senate by a 66–34 vote. The committee also advanced the nominations of Mary Jo White as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (confirmed April 2013), Mel Watt as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (confirmed December 2013), and Julián Castro as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (confirmed July 2014).
Johnson led the committee's effort to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which provides a federal backstop for private insurers covering losses from terrorist attacks. He chaired a hearing on TRIA reauthorization in September 2013 and the Senate passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014 on July 17, 2014.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
- Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs, and Related Agencies (Chairman)
- Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (chairman)
- Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
- Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
- Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
- Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
- Subcommittee on Water and Power
- Committee on Indian Affairs
Political positions
Johnson was considered a moderate Democrat.
Agriculture
Johnson worked to enact a requirement that meat and other agricultural products be labeled for country of origin. Having first authored legislation addressing the issue in 1992, Johnson continued the effort until a meat labeling law was enacted in 2002 as part of the Farm Bill reauthorization. The enacted law contained language Johnson had introduced earlier that session. For more than a decade, executive branch opposition and a World Trade Organization dispute brought by Canada and Mexico delayed full implementation of the labeling law; Congress ultimately repealed the beef and pork COOL requirements in December 2015 under WTO retaliation pressure.
In May 2007, Johnson received an Honored Cooperator award from the National Cooperative Business Association for his support of cooperative businesses.
In 2013, the National Farmers Union presented Johnson with its Friend of the Family Farmer award, an honor intended to recognize his commitment to helping small scale family farms remain viable.
thumb|right|Johnson with farmers
Defense
Johnson was the only seated member of Congress to have a son or daughter serving in the active duty military when the Senate voted to approve the use of force in Iraq. His oldest son, Brooks, served in the Army's 101st Airborne Division, which would surely be mobilized to fight in Iraq. Johnson ultimately voted to permit the use of force, and his son served in Iraq, having already served in other conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo. Brooks also served in the conflict in Afghanistan.
Health care
Johnson supported Obama's health reform legislation. He voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009 and for the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.
Social issues
Johnson was considered a moderate Democrat whose voting record diverged from his party on several social and fiscal issues. In the House, he was among the minority of Democrats to vote in favor of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, a welfare reform bill, and he voted for a bill to repeal the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. As a senator, Johnson voted in favor of the Manchin-Toomey bipartisan background check amendment in April 2013; the amendment failed 54–46, short of the 60-vote threshold required. While a member of the House, he was one of only 16 congressmen to vote against the Telecom Act of 1996. He also called for "broadened use" of the death penalty.
As a senator, Johnson was among the minority of Democrats to vote for President George W. Bush's 2001 tax cut. On January 31, 2006, he was one of only four Democrats to vote to confirm Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court. Johnson was among the minority of senators to vote against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which anti-abortion groups strongly supported. On December 18, 2010, Johnson voted in favor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.
Conservation
In May 2010, Johnson introduced the Tony Dean Cheyenne River Valley Conservation Act, a bill that would designate over of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland as protected wilderness. The act would allow the continuation of grazing and hunting on the land and would create the first national grassland wilderness in the country.
Electoral history
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ : Results 1986–1994
!|Year
!
!|Democratic
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|3rd party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|3rd party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|1986
|
| |Tim Johnson
| align="right" |171,462
| |59.2%
|
| |Dale Bell
| align="right" |118,261
| |40.8%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1988
|
| |Tim Johnson (incumbent)
| align="right" |223,759
| |71.7%
|
| |David Volk
| align="right" |88,157
| |28.3%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1990
|
| |Tim Johnson (incumbent)
| align="right" |173,814
| |67.6%
|
| |
| align="right" |83,484
| |32.4%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1992
|
| | (incumbent)
| align="right" |230,070
| |69.1%
|
| |John Timmer
| align="right" |89,375
| |26.9%
|
| |Ronald Wieczorek
| |Independent
| align="right" |6,746
| align="right" |2.0%
|
| |Robert J. Newland
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |3,931
| align="right" |1.2%
|
|-
|1994
|
| |Tim Johnson (incumbent)
| align="right" |183,036
| |59.8%
|
| |Jan Berkhout
| align="right" |112,054
| |36.6%
|
| |Ronald Wieczorek
| |Independent
| align="right" |10,832
| align="right" |3.5%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1992, Ann Balakier received 2,780 votes.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ South Dakota Senator (Class II): Results 1996–2008
thumb|Johnson and Barbara, 1986 campaign photo
Illness and recovery
Johnson was treated for prostate cancer in 2004 and further tests showed he was clear of the disease.
On December 13, 2006, during the broadcast of a live radio interview, Johnson suffered bleeding in the brain caused by a cerebral arteriovenous malformation, a congenital defect that causes enlarged and tangled blood vessels. In critical condition, he underwent surgery at George Washington University Hospital to drain the blood and stop further bleeding.
Johnson then underwent a lengthy regimen of physical, occupational, and speech therapy to regain strength and mobility and restore his severely affected speech. He was left partially paralyzed on his right side, and had to use a scooter. Johnson resumed his full schedule in the Senate on September 5, 2007.
thumb|right|Johnson at the Sioux Falls Convention Center, August 2007
Death
Johnson died on October 8, 2024, at age 77, in Sioux Falls after having another stroke. The next day, Governor Kristi Noem ordered that flags be flown at half-staff until his interment. His funeral service was held on October 18 at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls was attended by hundreds of people, including several politicians who had served with Johnson. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.
<gallery>
File:Clay County Deputy State's Attorney Tim Johnson 1985.jpg|Johnson when he was Clay County assistant state's attorney in Vermillion
File:Congressman Tim Johnson (D-SD) Dick Gephardt (D-MO) Touring Rural SD 1988.jpg|Johnson with South Dakota farmers and Dick Gephardt
File:Congressman Tim Johnson (D-SD) Ethanol Car US Capitol Driving 1990s.jpg|Johnson driving an ethanol-powered vehicle at the U.S. Capitol
File:FEMA - 891 - Photograph by Andrea Booher taken on 06-05-1998 in South Dakota.jpg|Johnson surveying tornado damage in Spencer in 1998, with John Thune, Bill Janklow, Tom Daschle, Al Gore, James Lee Witt, and Rick Weiland
File:TIMSD.jpg|Johnson answering questions after helping prevent the closure of Ellsworth Air Force Base
File:Timjohnsonforsouthdakota.senatebankingcommitteestaffers.2014.jpg|Johnson with Senate Banking Committee staff, 2014
</gallery>
References
External links
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