Johnson was elected to the Montana Public Service Commission in 2014. He was sworn into office in January 2015, replacing Bill Gallagher (R) in District 5.

Johnson was elected to the Montana Public Service Commission in 2014. He was sworn into office in January 2015, replacing Bill Gallagher (R) in District 5.

Johnson ran for U.S. House in 1990 and U.S. Senate in 2002 before finally winning election to the statewide position of Montana secretary of state in 2004.

Johnson was first elected in 2004 and took office in 2005. He served one term, during which he implemented the federal Help America Vote Act and increased overall time and cost efficiency of the office by introducing electronic processing systems.

He lost his bid for re-election in 2008 to then-superintendent of public instruction Linda McCulloch by about 5,300 votes. That loss was followed by an unsuccessful run for a Public Service Commission seat from District 5, in which he was defeated in the Republican primary.