Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson has dedicated his career to electing Democrats as a means of affecting public policy in a progressive manner. From state house to presidential races, Paul has been involved at every level of electoral politics.  

Paul served as manager or general consultant to nine U.S. Senate campaigns, helping to win eight of the nine elections, including Tom Daschle ('86), Bob Kerrey ('88, '94), Ben Nelson ('00, '06), Mark Pryor ('02, '08) and Jeff Merkley ('08). All but one victory was in a "red state." 

During the 1996 and 1998 election cycles, Paul served as Executive Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He also ran the DSCC independent expenditure operation in 2004. 

Paul worked on the presidential campaigns of Walter Mondale, Bob Kerrey, Bob Graham and Wes Clark, managing the latter two. During the 2008 presidential election for Barack Obama, he was involved in 501(c)(4) activities.

Paul served as Chief of Staff for Senator Bob Kerrey and State Director for Senator Tom Daschle.  He also worked for the Minnesota State Senate.

Getting his start in politics in Minnesota, Paul has worked on campaigns for mayor, state legislature, congress and governor. He also served as Associate Chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Paul is a graduate of the University of Minnesota (B.A.) and the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs (M.A.).

Paul's proudest achievements are convincing Amy Watkins to be his wife, and their two daughters, Emma and Anna Claire. They live in Amy's hometown of Shreveport, LA. A native Minnesotan, Johnson has yet to acquire a taste for grits.

e-mail: pjohnson at mackcrounse.com