Drew Johnson

Last updated

Drew Johnson
Drew Johnson in the newsroom of the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Nov. 17, 2012.jpg
Johnson in 2012
Born
Jason Andrew Johnson

1979/1980(age 44–45) [1]
Johnson City, Tennessee
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Political commentator and columnist
Known forFounded Tennessee Center for Policy Research
Political party Republican

Jason Andrew Johnson [2] is an American political columnist, policy analyst, and former think tank founder and executive. He was the Republican nominee for Nevada's 3rd congressional district in the 2024 election. [3]

Contents

Johnson is known as a government waste expert and government watchdog. He writes frequently about tax and budget issues, technology and telecommunications policy, and the environment, and is credited with popularizing the use of investigative journalism by think tanks. [4] [5]

He was the founder and first president of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, now known as the Beacon Center of Tennessee. [6] He later edited the editorial page of the Chattanooga Times Free Press . He is a former columnist and editorial writer at The Washington Times . [7] [8]

Johnson also worked at the National Taxpayers Union, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, and the American Enterprise Institute. [9] [10] [11]

He was narrowly defeated in a 2022 bid for the Clark County Commission. [12]

The Nevada Independent called Johnson's result in the 2024 Republican primary "a surprise win" in the four-way race. [13]

Early life

Johnson grew up in Johnson City, Tennessee, and graduated from Science Hill High School in 1997. He was raised by a single mother who worked two jobs. The family lived in a trailer home. [13] [14] He then earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Belmont University and a Master of Public Policy degree from Pepperdine University. [15] Johnson was a Koch Fellow at the Institute for Humane Studies and the American Enterprise Institute. [16] Johnson lived out of his car while starting his career. [13]

Career

Tennessee Center for Policy Research

Johnson founded the Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR) in 2004. Under his leadership, the organization used the Tennessee Open Records Act of obtain Al Gore's home energy bills the day after the former Vice President won an Academy Award for the climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth . [17] The records showed that, in 2006, Gore's Belle Meade, Tennessee home consumed nearly 221,000 kWh of electricity—more than 20 times the national average. [18] In 2006, Gore spent an average of $1,359 per month to power the home. [18]

After releasing Al Gore's home energy consumption, Johnson and other TCPR employees received death threats, harassing emails and threatening phone calls from Gore supporters and environmental activists. [19] [20] [21] The Nevada Independent wrote that "Much of his research highlights waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government — he is most famous for using public records to calculate climate champion and former Vice President Al Gore's home energy use in Tennessee." [13]

Johnson left TCPR at the end of 2009. [22] In May 2011, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance announced that he would join that organization as a senior fellow. [23]

Chattanooga Times Free Press

On July 1, 2012, Johnson joined the Chattanooga Times Free Press as opinion editor for the Free Press editorial page, writing editorials and a weekly column. [15] Under Johnson, the Chattanooga Times Free Press became the largest newspaper in the United States to endorse Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson during the 2012 United States presidential election cycle. [24]

On August 1, 2013, the newspaper announced that Johnson was terminated for violating the newspaper's standards in altering an editorial headline to tell Barack Obama to "Take Your Jobs Plan and Shove It," a play on the classic country music song "Take This Job and Shove It." [25] The newspaper stated the alteration was "inappropriate" and that Johnson did not follow normal editing procedures. [26] Johnson later claimed that his firing was a result of the criticizing Chattanooga's electric company, EPB, one of the newspaper's largest advertisers. [27] "When I explained how EPB scammed taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of dollars... EPB pulled its ads from the paper," Johnson said. "I know the paper was frustrated with losing money because I was willing to speak the truth about bad actors in the community." [27]

Media and think tanks

Johnson then joined The Washington Times as a columnist, editorial writer and author of the newspaper's weekly "Golden Hammer" column, which exposed an egregious example of wasteful spending of tax dollars. [28] [29] Johnson also hosted a weekly "Golden Hammer" television segment based on the column that was available on some Sinclair Broadcast Group stations' local news broadcasts. [30]

In April 2016, Johnson was named National Director of Protect Internet Freedom, a group formed to push back on new net neutrality rules and federal preemption of state laws limiting municipal broadband buildouts. [31] He joined the National Center for Public Policy Research as a senior scholar in 2017. [17]

Johnson again investigated Al Gore's home energy use in a 2017 report written for the National Center for Public Policy Research. [17] According to information obtained through the Nashville Electric Service, energy consumption at Gore's Nashville-area house increased from 2006 to 2017, despite installing 33 solar panels on the home following the initial criticism. [17] In 2017, Gore's home used 21.3 times more energy per month than a typical American household. [17]

Political views

Johnson is a libertarian-leaning Republican. [13]

He has opposed the death penalty and the Patriot Act, spoken out against anti-Muslim bias and criticized Republicans for increasing government spending. [32] [33] [34] He has also written in support of free speech, gay marriage and drug legalization. [35] [36]

In 2016, Johnson called Trump a "socialist" and in 2020 called his presidency an "embarrassment" after a federal execution. But in 2024, Johnson endorsed Trump's 2024 presidential run. Johnson has said he wants to be in Congress to help move the Republican Party beyond Trump. [13]

In June 2024, he told The Nevada Independent if elected he would vote against government funded-abortion services and against a national abortion ban, believing that the Dobbs decision left the issue "appropriately" up to the states. [13]

Public service

Johnson served as commissioner on the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth from 1997 to 2006, and was named to the Tennessee Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights in 2008. [37]

He currently serves as the public member of the Nevada State Board of Optometry. [38]

Personal life

He is married to marketing consultant and travel blogger Sarah Reeves Johnson and they live in Las Vegas. They moved there in 2015 when seeking a friendly environment to start a small business. [13]

Johnson is credited with starting the Vegas Golden Knights' "Victory Flamingo" tradition, in which fans of the NHL team toss pink plastic flamingos on the ice in celebration of Vegas Golden Knights victories. [39] [40] [41]

Electoral history

2024 Nevada's 3rd congressional district Republican primary results [42]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Drew Johnson 10,519 32.0
Republican Dan Schwartz 7,35122.3
Republican Elizabeth Helgelien 6,78420.6
Republican Martin O'Donnell 6,72720.4
Republican Steven Schiffman5941.8
Republican Steve London4951.5
Republican Brian Nadell4461.4
Total votes32,916 100.0
2024 Nevada's 3rd congressional district general election [43]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Susie Lee (incumbent) 191,304 51.4
Republican Drew Johnson 181,08448.6
Total votes372,388 100.0
Democratic hold

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee</span> U.S. state

Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, Arkansas to the southwest, and Missouri to the northwest. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. According to the United States Census Bureau, the state's estimated population as of 2024 is 7.22 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chattanooga, Tennessee</span> City in Tennessee, United States

Chattanooga is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River, and borders Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee's fourth-most populous city and one of the two principal cities of East Tennessee, along with Knoxville. It anchors the Chattanooga metropolitan area, Tennessee's fourth-largest metropolitan statistical area, as well as a larger three-state area that includes Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia, and Northeast Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marilyn Lloyd</span> American politician (1929–2018)

Rachel Marilyn Lloyd was an American politician and businesswoman who served ten terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 until 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee Valley</span> Drainage basin of the Tennessee River

The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to north Alabama and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina. The border of the valley is known as the Tennessee Valley Divide. The Tennessee Valley contributes greatly to the formation of Tennessee's three legally recognized sectors.

The Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970 was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President Richard Nixon, authorizing the formation of joint operating agreements among competing newspaper operations within the same media market area. It exempted newspapers from certain provisions of antitrust laws. Its drafters argued that this would allow the survival of multiple daily newspapers in a given urban market where circulation was declining. This exemption stemmed from the observation that the alternative is usually for at least one of the newspapers, generally the one published in the evening, to cease operations altogether.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flamingo Las Vegas</span> Casino hotel in Nevada, US

Flamingo Las Vegas is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The Flamingo includes a 72,299 sq ft (6,716.8 m2) casino and a 28-story hotel with 3,460 rooms.

<i>An Inconvenient Truth</i> 2006 film by Davis Guggenheim

An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former vice president of the United States Al Gore's campaign to educate people about global warming. The film features a slide show that, by Gore's own estimate, he has presented over 1,000 times to audiences worldwide.

<i>Chattanooga Times Free Press</i> Newspaper in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States

The Chattanooga Times Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is distributed in the metropolitan Chattanooga region of southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. It is one of Tennessee's major newspapers and is owned by WEHCO Media, Inc., a diversified communications company with ownership in 14 daily newspapers, 11 weekly newspapers and 13 cable television companies in six states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Gore</span> Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001

Albert Arnold Gore Jr. is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as a United States Senator from 1985 to 1993 and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 1985, in which he represented Tennessee. Gore was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in the 2000 presidential election, which he lost to George W. Bush despite winning the popular vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Corker</span> American businessman and politician (born 1952)

Robert Phillips Corker Jr. is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2015 to 2019.

The Miss Tennessee competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Tennessee in the Miss America Scholarship Competition.

The 3rd congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in East Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Chuck Fleischmann since January 2011. The third district has been centered on Chattanooga since before the Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental activism of Al Gore</span>

Al Gore is an American politician and environmentalist. He was vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001, the Democratic Party's presidential nominee in 2000, and the co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He has been involved with the environmental activist movement for a number of decades and has had full participation since he left the vice-presidency in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Berke</span> American attorney & politician

Andrew Lawrence Berke is an American attorney and politician from Tennessee. He served as the mayor of Chattanooga from 2013 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Hamilton and Marion counties in the 10th district as a state senator from 2007 to 2012. On March 5, 2013, he became Chattanooga's mayor-elect, winning more than 72% of the vote, and he was inaugurated on April 15, 2013. Berke was re-elected on March 7, 2017, and served until April 19, 2021, when he was succeeded by Tim Kelly. On October 6, 2022, President Joe Biden appointed Berke to serve as administrator of the Rural Utilities Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Tennessee</span>

The U.S. state of Tennessee contains a diverse economy that is made up of many sectors with a mix of industries including manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, and tourism. The state is home to several major corporations, including FedEx, the largest courier company in the world, and AutoZone, the largest retailer of auto parts in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Seigenthaler</span> American journalist, writer, and political figure (1927–2014)

John Lawrence Seigenthaler was an American journalist, writer, and political figure. He was known as a prominent defender of First Amendment rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EPB</span> Electricity and telecommunications company in Chattanooga, Tennessee

EPB of Chattanooga, formerly known as the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, is an American electric power distribution and telecommunication company owned by the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. EPB serves nearly 180,000 homes and businesses in a 600-square mile area in the greater Chattanooga area and Hamilton County. In 2010, EPB was the first company in the United States to offer 1 Gbit/s high-speed internet over a fiber optic network, over 200 times faster than the national average. As a result, Chattanooga has been called "Gig City" and held up as a national model for deploying the world's fastest internet and the most advanced Smart Grid electric distribution system in the United States. On October 15, 2015, Chattanooga implemented the world's first community-wide 10-gig Internet service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beacon Center of Tennessee</span> American think tank

The Beacon Center of Tennessee, formerly the Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR), is a non-profit free-market think tank based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Center's research areas include tax and economic policy, education policy, and healthcare policy. The organization is a member of the State Policy Network.

Tennessee Tax Revolt, Inc.(TTR) is an American anti-tax political advocacy group active in the state of Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election</span>

The 2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Tennessee, alongside other state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Haslam was term-limited, and is prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. Republican candidate Bill Lee was elected with 59.6% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee and former Nashville mayor Karl Dean.

References

  1. ↑ "Al Gore's 'Inconvenient Truth'? -- A $30,000 Utility Bill". ABC News. February 26, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Drew Johnson's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  3. ↑ "AP: Drew Johnson, Mark Robertson win primaries". Las Vegas Review-Journal. June 12, 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  4. ↑ "The Tennessee Center For Policy Research Of Al Gore's Electric Bills | Nashville Post". Archived from the original on April 10, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Nine questions with Drew Johnson". Noogatoday. October 15, 2012.
  6. ↑ Jeff Woods, The Great Gadfly: How a baby-faced kid became the governor's No. 1 nemesis Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , Nashville Scene , September 11, 2008
  7. ↑ Boucher, Dave (May 24, 2015). "Beacon Center grows, helps defeat Insure TN". The Tennessean. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Former Washington Times reporter who investigated Higgins says 'It's about time'". April 4, 2018.
  9. ↑ Chenoweth, Paul (January 22, 2004). "Belmont Grad Provides Expert National Political Research". Belmont University News & Media. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  10. ↑ "MEDIA ALERT: Government Waste Expert Drew Johnson Joins TPA as Senior Fellow". Taxpayers Protection Alliance. May 9, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Drew Johnson named as Free Press opinion page editor". timesfreepress.com. June 9, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  12. ↑ Hill, Jessica (May 4, 2023). "GOP's Drew Johnson takes aim at Susie Lee for US House seat". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Birenbaum, Gabby (June 16, 2024). "After surprise primary win, can Drew Johnson flip Nevada's swingiest House seat?". The Nevada Independent. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Beacon Center's light doesn't shine on everyone". January 18, 2015.
  15. 1 2 "Drew Johnson named opinion page editor for Free Press". Chattanooga Times Free Press. June 8, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  16. ↑ Harkinson, Josh (December 4, 2009). "The Dirty Dozen of Climate Change Denial, No. 10: Tennessee Center for Policy Research (A.K.A. Carnival of Climate Change)". Mother Jones . Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 "Al Gore's Inconvenient Reality: The Former Vice President's Home Energy Use Surges up to 34 Times the National Average Despite Costly Green Renovations, by Drew Johnson". August 2017.
  18. 1 2 "Al Gore's Personal Energy Use is His Own "Inconvenient Truth"".
  19. ↑ "The Left-Wing Echo Chamber".
  20. ↑ "Where's the Tolerance?". National Review . April 9, 2007.
  21. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Penn & Teller: BS! - Being Green. YouTube .
  22. ↑ Clint Brewer Now Top Dog At TCPR Archived August 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , Nashville Post, October 29, 2009
  23. ↑ Government Waste Expert Drew Johnson Joins TPA as Senior Fellow
  24. ↑ "Gary Johnson for president". October 24, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Read the headline that got Drew Johnson fired: 'Take your jobs plan and shove it, Mr. President: Your policies have harmed Chattanooga enough'".
  26. ↑ Mirkinson, Jack (August 1, 2013). "Drew Johnson, Chattanooga Editor, Fired Over Anti-Obama Headline". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  27. 1 2 "Whatever happened to Drew Johnson?". March 24, 2014.
  28. ↑ "DREW JOHNSON: Virginia private property rights saved Colonial America". The Washington Times .
  29. ↑ "Golden Hammer: Feds spend millions to study drunken monkeys, pilots and students". The Washington Times .
  30. ↑ "Questionable accounting hides $100 million in purchases at Illinois college". October 3, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Protect Internet Freedom Names Drew Johnson Executive Director". April 22, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Drew Johnson: Capital punishment inconsistent with conservative views". December 2, 2013.
  33. ↑ "TN Tea Party Goes Archie Bunker". July 24, 2012.
  34. ↑ "JOHNSON: Misspending GOP capital on Cochran in Mississippi". The Washington Times .
  35. ↑ "Drew Johnson's support of gay marriage". Archived from the original on December 29, 2012.
  36. ↑ "Right Side Round Table: Should marijuana be legalized? Hamilton County Grand Jury thinks so". May 2, 2013.
  37. ↑ "Drew Johnson". National Center for Public Policy Research. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  38. ↑ "Nevada State Board of Optometry". Nevada State Board of Optometry. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  39. ↑ "Stanley Cup Final: Meet the Vegas Golden Knights Flamingo Man". May 29, 2018.
  40. ↑ "Meet the Victory Flamingo: How Golden Knights fans got behind the tradition".
  41. ↑ "Do You Believe in the Power of the "Victory Flamingo"? | REAL 103.9".
  42. ↑ "2024 Official Statewide Primary Election Results". Nevada Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 12, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  43. ↑ "Silver State 2024 Election Results". silverstateelection.nv.gov. Nevada Secretary of State. Archived from the original on January 31, 2025. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.