Eric Johnson

From dKosopedia

Category: Georgia Republicans

Eric Johnson is a Republican state senator from Savannah, Georgia. He serves as President Pro Tempore of the State Senate.

Johnson got his start as a Republican activist, serving as Chairman of the Chatham County Republican Party in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1992 and to the State Senate in 1994.

Johnson was elected Minority Leader in 1998 and served in that role until the Republicans took control of the State Senate after the 2002 elections. In 2003, he was elected President Pro Tempore of the State Senate, the first Republican to hold that post since Reconstruction.

In the 2002 elections, Johnson literally wrapped himself in the Confederate Battle Flag, draping one over his shoulders during the St. Patrick Day's Parade as a protest against the removal of that emblem from the Georgia State Flag.

Johnson has dominated the State Senate since the Republican takeover, thanks largely to amendments to the Senate Rules that transferred most of the power of the Lieutenant Governor to a "Committee on Assignments" controlled by Johnson. Democrats and some Republicans have chafed under Johnson's heavy handedness.

A potential insurgency within the Republican caucus was squashed in 2003 when Senator Casey Cagle was defeated as a "reform" candidate for Senate Majority Leader. Most of the insurgents left the Senate in 2004 after Cagle's defeat, allowing Johnson to tighten his control over the body.

Cagle himself left in 2006 to run for Lieutenant Governor, winning an upset victory and vowing to take control of the Senate back from Johnson, although he did appoint Johnson to a five man Senate Transition Committee dominated by Cagle loyalists Chip Pearson, Chip Rogers and David Shafer.

Johnson is known for outrageous publicity stunts, a skill set that served him well when he was Minority Leader but which he now tries to live down.