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

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

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 (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,281,565, and was estimated to be 1,273,334 in 2024, making it the List of counties in ...

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

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

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 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, losing to incumbent Democrat

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Minnesota, 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He served as a United States Senate, United States Senator representing Minneso ...

, and again in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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

Tim Walz Timothy James Walz (; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician who has served since 2019 as the 41st governor of Minnesota. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States, vice pre ...

Early life, education, and career

Born in

Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Detroit Lakes is a city and the county seat of Becker County, Minnesota, Becker County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,869 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its unofficial population during summer months is much hi ...

, Johnson graduated from Detroit Lakes High School 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 Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment, with over ...

, 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 an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held c ...

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 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

he ran for

state attorney general The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the District of Columbia, federal district, or of any of the Territories of the United States, territories is the chief legal advisor to the State governments of the United States, sta ...

, but lost to the DFL candidate,

Lori Swanson Lori Swanson (born December 16, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the Minnesota Attorney General, attorney general of Minnesota from 2007 to 2019. She was the first female attorney general elected in Minnesota. In 2018 Min ...

, with 40.72% of the vote.

Republican National Committee

In 2011, Johnson ran against

Tom Emmer Thomas Earl Emmer Jr. (born March 3, 1961) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who has served as majority whip in the United States House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he has represented since 2 ...

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 nominee 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 state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Minnesota and the oldest active political party in the state. Founded in 1855, the party is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, E ...

formally endorsed him at their state convention in

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

. On August 14, in what many political commentators considered an upset, Johnson defeated former governor

Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty ( ; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served from 2003 to 2011 as the 39th governor of Minnesota. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House ...

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 is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

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 to spend $426,150 to acquire the cellphone spying 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 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 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature