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David J. Johnson
David J. Johnson
Member of the Iowa Senate
	In office; January 13, 2003 – January 7, 2019
Preceded by	Kenneth Veenstra
Succeeded by	Zach Whiting
Constituency	3rd district (2003–2011); 1st district (2011–2019)
Member of the Iowa House of Representatives; from the 6th district
	In office; January 13, 1997 – January 13, 2003
Preceded by	Richard Vande Hoef
Succeeded by	Greg Stevens
Personal details
Born	1950 (age 73–74); West Branch, Iowa, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (since 2019)
Other political; affiliations	Republican (until 2016); Independent (2016–2019)
Residence(s)	Ocheyedan, Iowa, U.S.
Alma mater	Beloit College
Occupation	Dairy farmer
Website	Johnson's website

David Johnson (born 1950) was the Iowa State Senator from the 1st District and served as assistant minority leader.^[1] A former Republican and currently independent,^[2] he served in the Iowa Senate from 2003 to 2019 and served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003. He received his B.A. in History from Beloit College.

Johnson served on several committees in the Iowa Senate – the Appropriations committee; the Education committee; the Human Resources committee; the Natural Resources committee; and the Agriculture committee, where he was the ranking member. He also served as the ranking member of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee.

2006 election

In his 2006 bid for re-election, Johnson received 12,328 votes (57%), defeating Democratic opponent Mel Berryhill.^[3]

Early life and education

Johnson was born and raised in West Branch, Iowa, and graduated from West Branch High School. He then went on to obtain his B.A. in history from Beloit College in Wisconsin.^[4]

Career

After graduating college, he went on three scientific expeditions. For all three trips to Antarctica and the Arctic, he was the camp manager. Outside politics, Johnson works on an Osceola County dairy farm. He then went on to become a newspaper publisher and editor where he won a number of awards for his work in journalism. For several years he served as president of the Chamber of Commerce.^[4]

In July 2015, upon receiving an email from a teacher asking for him to reconsider his stance on an education vote, Senator Johnson wrote "quit whining".^[5]

In June 2016, Johnson changed his party affiliation to "No Party", citing his opposition to the Republican Party's support for U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. He stated, "Many of the voters who elected me are supporting Mr. Trump. I respect that, but disagree that he is qualified to lead the nation and the free world."^[2]^[6] Joohnson did not run for reelection in 2018.^[7] In 2019, Johnson joined the Democratic Party.^[8]

Awards and honors

Johnson has won a number of awards from the following:

Distinguished Service Award
Iowa Newspaper Association
Iowa FFA and Iowa High School Football Coaches Association
Legislator of the Year
Iowa Izaak Walton League
Iowa Agribusiness Association
Iowa Biotechnology Association and Iowa Safe Kids Coalition
Guardian of Small Business Award — National Federation of Independent Business
Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities
Iowa Health Care Association
Iowa Dental Association^[4]

References

^ "State Senator". Iowa Legislative Services Agency. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Petroski, William (June 7, 2016). "Iowa GOP lawmaker dumps party to protest Trump". Des Moines Register.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-15. Retrieved 2011-09-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c "David Johnson". Iowa Senate Republican Caucus. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
^ "Iowa state senator to Waterloo teacher: Quit whining | Local Education | qctimes.com".
^ Jacobs, Ben (June 7, 2016). "Iowa state senator is first elected official to leave Republican party over Trump". The Guardian.
^ Hayworth, Brett (May 31, 2018). "David Johnson, first independent in Iowa Senate since 1926, won't seek re-election". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
^ Mahoney, Mark (May 30, 2020). "David Johnson shares his life post-politics". N'West Iowa Review. Retrieved May 23, 2024.

External links

Senator David Johnson official Iowa Legislature site
Senator David Johnson official Iowa General Assembly site
Senator David Johnson at Iowa Senate Republican Caucus

Profile at Vote Smart
Financial information (state office) at the National Institute for Money in State Politics

Iowa House of Representatives
Preceded by Richard Vande Hoef	6th district 1999–2003	Succeeded by Greg Stevens
Iowa Senate
Preceded by Kenneth Veenstra	3rd district 2003–2009	Succeeded by Zach Whiting