Jim Johnson (Texas)

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Jim Johnson

Republican Party

Texas 431st District Court

Tenure

2021 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

4

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

The University of Texas, 1983

Law

Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, 2008

Personal

Birthplace

Fort Worth, Texas

Religion

Christian

Jim Johnson (Republican Party) is a judge of the Texas 431st District Court. He assumed office on January 1, 2021. His current term ends on December 31, 2028.

Johnson (Republican Party) ran for re-election for judge of the Texas 431st District Court. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Jim Johnson was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas Business Honors Program in 1983. He earned a law degree from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in 2008. Johnson's career experience includes working as an attorney, as an adjunct professor of law with the Texas A&M University School of Law, as a Certified Public Accountant with Ernst & Young, as a chief finance officer with Associates International Holdings Corporation, and as a chief executive officer with Citifinancial Japan Inc. Johnson has been active with and has served as a vice-chair with the Denton County Republican Party.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Denton County, Texas (2024)

General election

General election for Texas 431st District Court

Incumbent Jim Johnson won election in the general election for Texas 431st District Court on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Johnson (R)	100.0	282,169

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 282,169
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas 431st District Court

Incumbent Jim Johnson advanced from the Republican primary for Texas 431st District Court on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Johnson	100.0	62,501

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,501
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Johnson in this election.

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Denton County, Texas (2020)

General election

General election for Texas 431st District Court

Jim Johnson defeated Diana Weitzel in the general election for Texas 431st District Court on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Johnson (R)	57.4	225,504
		Diana Weitzel (D)	42.6	167,201

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 392,705
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Texas 431st District Court

Jim Johnson defeated Derbha Jones in the Republican primary runoff for Texas 431st District Court on July 14, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Johnson	62.5	9,437
		Derbha Jones	37.5	5,674

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 15,111 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas 431st District Court

Diana Weitzel advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas 431st District Court on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Diana Weitzel	100.0	46,314

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 46,314
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas 431st District Court

Jim Johnson and Derbha Jones advanced to a runoff. They defeated George Mitcham and Cannon Cain in the Republican primary for Texas 431st District Court on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Johnson	42.5	23,206
✔		Derbha Jones	25.4	13,833
	Submit photo	George Mitcham	22.5	12,257
	Submit photo	Cannon Cain	9.7	5,272

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 54,568
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jim Johnson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Candidate Conversations

Moderated by journalist and political commentator Greta Van Susteren, Candidate Conversations is a virtual debate format that allows voters to easily get to know their candidates through a short video Q&A. Click below to watch the conversation for this race.

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released April 9, 2020

Jim Johnson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Johnson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Jim Johnson is a Denton, Texas attorney who handles business, family, and criminal law trials. He studied economics at the University of Texas then attending law school at Texas Wesleyan (now Texas A&M Law School).

Mr. Johnson has served as adjunct Professor of Law at Texas A&M School of Law for the past 11 years, teaching Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing. He also is a Certified Public Accountant. His previous business career included serving as Chief Finance Officer of Associates International Holdings Corporation and as Chief Executive Officer of Citifinancial Japan Inc., where he led a complex business with more than 900 offices and 7,000 employees.

Mr. Johnson is the Denton County Republican Party's First Vice Chair - Finance. He and his wife are active members of eight local Republican Party clubs, and they served as Delegates to the Texas Republican Party State Conventions in 2018, 2016, and 2014.

Conservative organizations that have endorsed Jim Johnson for Judge include Texas Right to Life, Texas Alliance for Life, Texas Values Action PAC, Denton County Conservative Coalition, and Texans for Courageous Courts.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Jim Johnson is a Conservative Republican whose judicial philosophy is strict constructionism.
• Jim Johnson is the Most Qualified Candidate, with experience in criminal law, family law, and business law, and he has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law for more than 11 years at Texas A&M Law School.
• Jim Johnson is endorsed by EVERY conservative organization who has endorsed in this race, including Texas Values Action PAC, Texas Alliance for Life, Texas Right to Life, Texans for Courageous Courts, Denton County Conservative Coalition.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I have a conservative legal philosophy and will not legislate from the bench. The 431st District Court's docket is diverse with general jurisdiction over complex business, family, and criminal law cases, including serious violent felonies up to murder. The actual current number of open cases by category in the 431st Court as of March 2020 are as follows: 495 Business/Civil (35%); 452 Criminal (32%); 447 Family non-CPS (31%); 35 CPS (2%); = 1429 Total Cases. This Court's broad docket needs to be managed by an attorney with excellent legal knowledge across ALL areas plus proven experience in executive management.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity, Intelligence, and Intensity.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Uphold the law and do not legislate from the bench.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I'm an Eagle Scout, and my first job was working at Sid Richardson Scout Ranch from age 14 through 17. My Scout Troop was sponsored by Fort Worth's University Baptist Church. We had a big family-six children-and Mom and Dad took us to church every Sunday and Wednesday where we learned to sing from hymnals and memorized scripture. While taking seminary classes, my dad worked as a butcher by day and was a U.S. Postal mail sorter by night. My mom worked washing dishes at our local elementary school.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Book of Romans (outstanding presentation of theology)

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Perry Mason

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

It is Well (with my soul)

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

In the year 2000, my employer (CFJ Inc. in Tokyo, Japan, where I served as business leader) was faced with dramatic reductions in revenue due to new laws that reduced the interest rates across the board. Rather than lay off employees to cut payroll costs in response, I led a major expansion of branch office locations and automated loan machines across the country to overcome the revenue decline. The result was tripling of our profits and advancing from the sixth largest finance company in Japan to the third largest during the three year expansion program.

How would you describe your legal philosophy?

I am a strict constructionist--a constitutional conservative.

Is there a particular judge, past or present, whom you admire?

I admire U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas (current), Neil Gorsuch (current), and Antonin Scalia (former).

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

This position is a natural next step for my career and a great fit for my conservative values. The 431st District Court's docket is diverse with general jurisdiction over complex business, family, and criminal law cases, including serious violent felonies up to murder. The actual current number of open cases by category as of March 2020 in the 431st Court are as follows: 495 Business/Civil (35%); 452 Criminal (32%); 447 Family non-CPS (31%); 35 CPS (2%); = 1429 Total Cases. This Court's broad docket needs to be managed by an attorney with excellent legal knowledge across ALL areas plus proven experience in executive management.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Footnotes

Texas courts

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Federal courts:

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas

State courts:

Texas Supreme Court • Texas Court of Appeals • Texas Court of Criminal Appeals • Texas District Courts • Texas County Courts • Texas County Courts at Law • Texas Statutory Probate Courts • Texas Justice of the Peace Courts

State resources:

Courts in Texas • Texas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Texas