Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
WASHINGTON — Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., a former three-term senator and five-term U.S. representative who took the helm of the Senate Banking Committee in the wake of the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, has died at age 77.
Johnson died Tuesday evening surrounded by family in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after complications with a recent stroke, his family said in a statement.
“Tim always quipped that neither the left, nor the right, had a monopoly on all of the good ideas, but that working together, we can find common ground for the good of our country,” his family said. “In his work and life, Tim showed us never to give up. He will be missed. Our lives are fuller for having been loved and supported by him.”
Johnson had a 30-year career in politics and never lost an election. He held the post of Senate Banking Committee chairman from 2011 to 2014.
In 1987, Johnson was elected to South Dakota’s lone seat in the House of Representatives. He served 10 years in the House and decided in 1996 to make a move and run for the U.S. Senate, narrowly defeating three-term Republican Sen. Larry Pressler. In 2002, Johnson ran for reelection and was challenged by his successor in the House, Congressman John Thune. He won the nail-biter of a race by just 524 votes.
In 2006, Johnson suffered a brain hemorrhage but returned to a full Senate schedule the next year. He chose not to seek reelection in 2014.
During his time leading the Senate Banking Committee, Johnson hoped to reform the housing finance system.
“Because the housing markets have seen such volatility and they are so fragile, we must be deliberate about their performance,”
He worked with Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, who was at the time the panel’s top Republican, on a
“I do not think an arbitrary time line would be helpful because this reform will greatly impact the availability of mortgages,” Johnson said. “I would rather get it right than just get it done.”
Johnson was born in Canton, South Dakota, to Vandel Charles Johnson, an educator and Ruth Jorinda, a homemaker. He earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of South Dakota and returned to his hometown of Vermillion to attend the University of South Dakota School of Law. He went into private practice and served from 1979 to 1982 in the South Dakota House of Representatives and from 1983 to 1986 in the state Senate.
He is survived by his wife Barbara, three children and eight grandchildren.
“As a fourth generation South Dakotan, fighting for the state he loved was the greatest privilege of his life, but he considered his family his greatest blessing,” his family said in a statement.