Dusty Johnson

Dustin Michael Johnson (born September 30, 1976) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner from 2005 to 2011, when he was appointed chief of staff to Governor Dennis Daugaard, a position he held until 2014. Between his state political career and congressional service, Johnson was the vice president of Vantage Point Solutions in Mitchell, South Dakota.

As a member of the centrist Problem Solvers Caucus, Johnson is generally considered to be a moderate Republican. During his tenure he has voted to revoke Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the southern border, keep Liz Cheney as the Republican Conference Chair, and joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6, 2021 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

Early life and education

Johnson was born in Pierre, South Dakota. He graduated from T.F. Riggs High School in 1995. He graduated from the University of South Dakota with Omicron Delta Kappa honors with a BA in political science in 1999, and was a member of fraternity Phi Delta Theta. He earned his MPA from the University of Kansas in 2002. In 1998, Johnson was named a Truman Scholar. As a Truman Scholar, he worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. In 2003, Johnson worked as a senior policy advisor for then-South Dakota governor Mike Rounds.

State government career

Public Utilities Commission (2004–2011)

In 2004, Johnson was elected to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. He was the youngest utilities commissioner in the nation. In 2010, he won reelection. Johnson also served on the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' executive board. He was appointed chair of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission in 2007, and he served in that capacity until his resignation in 2011. In 2010, he led a South Dakota delegation that included then-Governor Rounds and state regulators that met with FCC Commissioners about concerns over the FCC's National Broadband Plan and its impact on small and rural providers in South Dakota.

Daugaard administration (2011–2014)

In 2011, he resigned his PUC position to become Governor Dennis Daugaard's chief of staff, a position he held for four years. As chief operating officer for much of state government, he supervised cabinet secretaries, policy advisors and many of Daugaard's projects and initiatives.

Private sector career (2014–2018)

In 2014, Johnson resigned as chief of staff, leaving the public sector to work for Vantage Point Solutions in Mitchell, South Dakota. Johnson was succeeded as chief of staff by Daugaard's son-in-law, fellow Truman Scholar Tony Venhuizen. Johnson resigned his position with Vantage Point Solutions in 2018 upon his accession to Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

On November 15, 2016, Johnson announced his candidacy for U.S. Representative for . The announcement came shortly after Kristi Noem announced she would not seek reelection to Congress in order to run in the 2018 South Dakota gubernatorial election. Johnson defeated Secretary of State of South Dakota Shantel Krebs and state senator Neal Tapio in the June 5 Republican primary. He defeated Democratic nominee Tim Bjorkman, a retired circuit court judge, and two minor candidates in the November general election.

2020

On February 19, 2020, Johnson announced his bid for reelection to the House. On February 4, 2020, former state representative Liz Marty May announced she would challenge Johnson in the Republican primary.

Two Democrats, Brian Wirth of Dell Rapids and Whitney Raver of Custer, announced their candidacy for the House seat, but neither received the required number of signatures to make the ballot. According to state party chairman Randy Seiler, Wirth and Raver's canvassing efforts were hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 2, Johnson won the Republican primary, 77%–23%. He won the general election with 81% of the vote.

2022

On October 12, 2021, State Representative Taffy Howard announced that she would challenge Johnson in the Republican primary. On June 7, 2022, Johnson defeated Howard, 59%–40%.

Johnson went on to defeat Libertarian nominee Collin Duprel 77.4%–22.6%.

2024

Johnson won the Republican primary unopposed. He went on to face Democrat Sheryl Johnson, who he defeated 72%–28%.

Political positions

Johnson was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives on January 3, 2019, and joined the Problem Solvers Caucus soon after.

Antitrust

In 2022, Johnson was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.

Border wall

On March 26, 2019, Johnson was one of 14 Republicans to vote with all House Democrats to override President Trump's veto of a measure revoking Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the southern border.

2020 Presidential election

Johnson did not join the majority of Republican members of Congress who signed an amicus brief in support of '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'', a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Johnson voted to certify both Arizona's and Pennsylvania's results in the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count.

On May 19, 2021, Johnson was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6, 2021 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

LGBT Rights

In 2022, Johnson voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, alongside South Dakota's two US senators, John Thune and Mike Rounds. Discussing his vote, Johnson indicated that he did not believe the bill provided sufficient protections for "individuals or institutions that have sincerely-held 'religious beliefs and moral convictions' about marriage", stating that “If Congress is going to codify the Supreme Court’s gay marriage decision, the religious protections need to be air tight, and they weren’t,” Speaking during his 2022 reelection campaign, Johnson further addressed the issue, stating: "These things are the business of the states. In fact, the full faith and credit provision of the constitution says that if any state has those gay marriages that other states need to recognize them." "Listen, when it is in the constitution—when Speaker Pelosi is going to put up these political-show bills I think she’s got to understand she’s going to find it a lot harder to get Republican support for those.”

Liz Cheney

During the second vote to oust Liz Cheney, Johnson was among the few House Republicans who voted to keep her as conference chair.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Agriculture
**Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations
**Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
**Subcommittee on Aviation
**Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
**Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party

Caucus memberships

* Republican Main Street Partnership (chair)
* Problem Solvers Caucus
* Climate Solutions Caucus
* Congressional Coalition on Adoption
* Rare Disease Caucus
* Congressional Western Caucus

Electoral history

Personal life

Johnson has been actively involved as a state advisor for South Dakota Teen Age Republicans (TARs) and its Black Hills camp leader. He has served on the board of directors for the W.O. Farber Fund, Abbott House, and on the South Dakota Attorney General's Open Government Task Force. Johnson has served as an adjunct professor at Dakota Wesleyan University.

References

External links

Congressman Dusty Johnson
official U.S. House website
Dusty Johnson for Congress

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Dusty
1976 births
Dakota Wesleyan University faculty
Living people
People from Mitchell, South Dakota
Politicians from Pierre, South Dakota
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Dakota
South Dakota Republicans
University of Kansas alumni
University of South Dakota alumni
Chiefs of staff to the governor of South Dakota
21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
South Dakota public utilities commissioners