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Pete Johnson

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Pete Johnson
Image of Pete Johnson
Minnesota House of Representatives District 8A
Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

0

Predecessor
Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Two Harbors High School

Associate

Lake Superior College, 2021

Bachelor's

St. Cloud State University, 2001

Graduate

Arizona State University, 2022

Personal
Birthplace
Two Harbors, Minn.
Profession
Firefighter
Contact

Pete Johnson (Democratic Party) is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 8A. He assumed office on January 14, 2025. His current term ends on January 12, 2027.

Johnson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Minnesota House of Representatives to represent District 8A. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Johnson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Pete Johnson was born in Two Harbors, Minnesota. He earned a high school diploma from Two Harbors High School, an associate degree from Lake Superior College in 2021, a bachelor's degree from St. Cloud State University in 2001, and a graduate degree from Arizona State University in 2022. His career experience includes working as a firefighter. Johnson has been affiliated with the International Association of Fire Fighters.[1]

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: Minnesota House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 8A

Pete Johnson defeated Mark McGrew in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 8A on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Pete Johnson
Pete Johnson (D) Candidate Connection
 
68.2
 
15,006
Mark McGrew (R)
 
31.6
 
6,962
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
29

Total votes: 21,997
Candidate Connection = 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 8A

Pete Johnson defeated Jordon Johnson in the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 8A on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Pete Johnson
Pete Johnson Candidate Connection
 
82.8
 
2,947
Image of Jordon Johnson
Jordon Johnson Candidate Connection
 
17.2
 
614

Total votes: 3,561
Candidate Connection = 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 Minnesota House of Representatives District 8A

Mark McGrew advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 8A on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Mark McGrew
 
100.0
 
985

Total votes: 985
Candidate Connection = 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 finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Johnson in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Pete Johnson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. 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

I grew up in rural Lake County. We did not have indoor plumbing or running water until I was around six years old or electricity until I was nine. While we did not have a lot, my parents provided us with a loving and supportive home. In 2002, I started my career as a firefighter, this experience is a big reason why I’m running for office. As a firefighter, I have responded to thousands of calls for help when people are at their most vulnerable. With 16 years as a union officer, I have worked with members from across the political spectrum. I negotiate contracts and I fight for workers’ rights. With nine years serving on Center City Housing’s Board of Directors, I worked to provide safe and stable housing for people across Minnesota. With six years as a girls’ lacrosse coach and board member, I work with families from diverse backgrounds to provide opportunities for any child that wants to play and I have seen how impactful sports and extracurricular activities can be in building a child's confidence and support network. As a husband to a public school teacher and dad to two daughters in middle school my approach to education is shaped by real-time, real-world experiences. I believe that my experience and perspective will put me in a unique position to not only advocate for people from all corners of our district, but also be effective in building the coalitions needed to get legislation passed. I hope to do the most good, for the most people, in the time that I have.
  • For the last 19 years I have served the citizens of Duluth as a firefighter. When someone calls 911, we answer. These calls come when people are at their most vulnerable, often scared, and don’t know what else to do or who can help them. Time after time, we respond and do not have the tools to solve their problem in the short time we have with them. This is a major reason why I am running. If we can address the underlying issues such as a safe and stable place to live, access to health care they can afford, an education, and a good job, maybe less people get to the point of despair and call 911 hoping someone can help and if they do, let's make sure we have the resources in place to make a difference.
  • My approach to education is shaped by real world experiences. The investments that we make today will pay dividends in the future. We need to make sure such investments are getting to teachers and students to make the greatest impacts. Many kids in our community are hurting and schools provide a safe place to get their needs met - we can do this by increasing mental health services, continuing free meals, and giving teachers support to do this important work. We need to lean into expanding career and technical education programming to match the needs of our local industries and businesses. Giving students practical skills and experience will help buoy local economies and keep our greatest asset invested in our state.
  • I’ve been a union member for 22+ years and I’ve served as a union officer for 16 years in different capacities at the local, state, and international level. Our membership is a snapshot of society, representing diverse opinions across the political spectrum. What we have in common is our union solidarity, our ability to fight for one another and defend our working conditions, rights, and benefits. Unions are gaining popularity and strength in our country after decades of decline, but I know there are many other workers that need the benefits and protections that good union jobs can provide. In many cases, it has been the work and successes of the labor movement that have improved conditions for all.
I would like to focus on four key issues that make up what I believe is the foundation of success: housing, affordable healthcare, education, and workers’ rights. These four components are so critical to a person's ability to thrive that if you remove any one of them, everything else becomes unstable. When I think about our community, I feel strongly about making it a place that everyone, from our young people to our seniors can thrive and choose to remain. That means creating systems that ensure stable and affordable housing for as many citizens as possible, being sure that our schools are well-funded and keeping pace with the needs of our industries, and valuing our workforce with livable wages and benefits.
I hope to be remembered as someone who worked hard, successfully advocated for the people I represent, and never lost touch with why I was there.
DFL-Democratic-Farmer-Labor

AFL-CIO/Northeast Area Labor Council/Duluth Central Labor Body
DFL Veterans’ Caucus
DFL Progressive Caucus
MN Young DFL Caucus
DFL Senior Caucus
DFL Rural Caucus
DFL Environmental Caucus
Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters
Duluth Professional Fire Fighters IAFF Local 101
United Association Local 11- Plumbers and Pipefitters
LiUNA Local 1091
IBEW Local 242
Duluth Building and Construction Trades Council
Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE)
IUOE Local 49
North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters

Planned Parenthood
Labor and Industry Finance and Policy

Housing Finance and Policy
Education Finance

Taxes

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.

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Pete Johnson campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Minnesota House of Representatives District 8AWon general$61,104 $80,776
Grand total$61,104 $80,776
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Minnesota

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Minnesota scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.













See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 14, 2024

Political offices
Preceded by
Liz Olson (D)
Minnesota House of Representatives District 8A
2025-Present
Succeeded by
-


Current members of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Lisa Demuth
Majority Leader:Harry Niska
Representatives
District 1A
District 1B
District 2A
District 2B
District 3A
District 3B
District 4A
District 4B
Jim Joy (R)
District 5A
District 5B
District 6A
Ben Davis (R)
District 6B
District 7A
District 7B
District 8A
District 8B
District 9A
District 9B
District 10A
District 10B
District 11A
District 11B
District 12A
District 12B
District 13A
District 13B
District 14A
District 14B
District 15A
District 15B
District 16A
District 16B
District 17A
District 17B
District 18A
District 18B
District 19A
District 19B
District 20A
District 20B
District 21A
District 21B
District 22A
District 22B
District 23A
District 23B
District 24A
District 24B
District 25A
Kim Hicks (D)
District 25B
District 26A
District 26B
District 27A
District 27B
District 28A
District 28B
Max Rymer (R)
District 29A
District 29B
District 30A
District 30B
District 31A
District 31B
District 32A
District 32B
District 33A
District 33B
District 34A
District 34B
Vacant
District 35A
District 35B
District 36A
District 36B
District 37A
District 37B
District 38A
District 38B
District 39A
District 39B
District 40A
District 40B
District 41A
District 41B
District 42A
District 42B
District 43A
District 43B
District 44A
District 44B
District 45A
District 45B
District 46A
District 46B
District 47A
District 47B
Ethan Cha (D)
District 48A
Jim Nash (R)
District 48B
District 49A
District 49B
District 50A
District 50B
District 51A
District 51B
District 52A
Liz Reyer (D)
District 52B
District 53A
District 53B
District 54A
District 54B
District 55A
District 55B
District 56A
District 56B
John Huot (D)
District 57A
District 57B
District 58A
District 58B
District 59A
Fue Lee (D)
District 59B
District 60A
District 60B
District 61A
District 61B
District 62A
District 62B
District 63A
District 63B
District 64A
District 64B
District 65A
District 65B
District 66A
District 66B
District 67A
Liz Lee (D)
District 67B
Jay Xiong (D)
Republican Party (67)
Democratic Party (66)
Vacancies (1)