Tim Johnson
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Timothy_Peter_Johnson.jpg
Tim Johnson
Timothy Peter Johnson (born December 28, 1946) is a United States Senator from South Dakota. He is the senior Senator from that state, and a member of the Democratic Party.
Born in Canton, South Dakota, Johnson earned a B.A. in 1969 and an M.A. in 1970 both from the University of South Dakota, where he was a brother of Delta Tau Delta. After doing post-graduate studies at Michigan State University from 1970-71, he earned a 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.
Johnson was elected to his first term in 1996, and to a second term in 2002 in an extremely close race against Republican John Thune, his sucessor to the at-large House seat. This was a major consolation prize for the Democrats, who had lost control of the Senate. This particular race was widely seen as a proxy contest between George W. Bush and the senior Senator from South Dakota and Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle.
In 2004 Daschle was actually defeated by Thune. This was a tremendous upset to Democrats, as Daschle was their leader in the Senate. But as a result of that election, Johnson and Thune are now serving together as the two senators from South Dakota.
Johnson should not be confused with Illinois Congressman Timothy V. Johnson.
External links
- Official website (http://johnson.senate.gov/)
- Congressional biography (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=J000177)
Preceded by: Tom Daschle | U.S. Representative for South Dakota's 1st Congressional District 1991-1997 | Succeeded by: John Thune |
Preceded by: Larry Pressler | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from South Dakota 1997- | Succeeded by: Incumbent Template:End box Template:South Dakota Congressional Delegation Template:Current U.S Senators |