Tim Johnson
Encyclopedia : T : TI : TIM : Tim Johnson
- ''This article is about the U.S. Senator from South Dakota. For the U.S. Representative from Illinois, see Timothy V. Johnson.
Born to Van and Ruth Johnson in Canton, South Dakota, Johnson earned a B.A. in 1969 and an M.A. in 1970, 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 1970-71, he earned his J.D. from the University of South Dakota in 1975. He served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 1979-82 and in the South Dakota Senate from 1983-86. He served in the United States House of Representatives, representing South Dakota at-large, from 1987-97.
United States Senate Election
Johnson defeated three-term Senator Larry Pressler (R) in the 1996 U.S. Senate election, making him the only Senate candidate to defeat an incumbent in a year which saw an extremely large number of open seats. In 2002, he defeated his successor in the at-large House seat, U.S. Representative John Thune (R), by 524 votes to win re-election in 2002. His re-election race was widely seen as a proxy battle between President George W. Bush, who had carried South Dakota comfortably in 2000, and the state's senior Senator and Johnson's fellow Democrat, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who was subsequently up for re-election in 2004.
United States Senate
Johnson is one of the more conservative Democrats in the Senate. [[Citing sources citation needed]] While in the House, he was among the minority of his party to vote in favor of the Personal Responsibility Act of 1995, a welfare reform bill, and another bill to repeal the ban on semiautomatic weapons. He was among the minority of Democrats to vote for Bush's 2001 tax cut. On January 31, 2006, Johnson was one of only four Democrats to vote to confirm Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Johnson was, however, among the minority of senators to vote against the Laci and Conner's Law which was strongly supported by pro-life groups. While a member of the House, he was one of only 16 congressmen to vote against the Telecom Act of 1996, which provided for deregulation and competition in the communication sector and was given firm support by Republicans, business groups, and most Democrats.
His oldest son, Brooks, serves in the U.S. Army, making him one of the few federal elected officials with a child in the U.S. Armed Forces. Michael Moore states in his film Fahrenheit 9/11 that only one member of Congress has a son serving in the military; that member was Johnson although his name was not mentioned in Moore's statement.
This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
External links
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