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Jonathan Johnson (Utah)
Jonathan Johnson was a Republican candidate for governor of Utah. He announced his candidacy on August 15, 2015, at the Utah Republican Party organizing convention. “I am ready to lead the state of Utah. I am making it official. I want to be Utah’s next governor,” he said.[1] He lost to incumbent Gary Herbert in the primary election.
Biography
Education
Johnson earned his undergraduate degree in Japanese at Brigham Young University. He was also a Japanese Ministry of Education scholar. He earned a J.D. at BYU law school. In 2013, he was an adjunct professor at BYU law.[2]
Career
Johnson is the former CEO and current chairman of the board of Overstock.com, a Utah-based online retailer. He joined Overstock.com to head its legal department in 2002. Within three months he became the fifth member of the company's executive team. He held multiple roles with the company, including serving as president from 2008 to 2013 and as acting CEO in 2013. He became the chairman in 2014.[2]
Johnson's law career includes clerking for the Utah Supreme Court, practicing corporate law at two international law firms, and serving as general counsel for a publicly traded software company. He was also the chief financial officer for that company.[2]
Elections
2016
- See also: Utah gubernatorial election, 2016
Johnson declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination in 2016, challenging Governor Gary R. Herbert (R).[1] He won 55 percent of the vote at the Republican state convention in April, forcing incumbent Governor Gary Herbert into a primary election, as in Utah, primaries are only held if a candidate does not secure 60 percent of the vote at the convention. Despite the show of support from Republican delegates, Johnson lost to Herbert in the June 28 primary election by a large margin.
| Utah Republican primary for governor and lieutenant governor, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Gary Herbert and Spencer Cox (incumbents) |
72.1% | 165,678 | ||
| Jonathan Johnson (Utah) and Robyn Bagley | 27.9% | 63,978 | ||
| Total Votes | 229,656 | |||
| Election results via Utah Secretary of State; all precincts reporting. | ||||
Debates
| Fact check/Are Gov. Herbert's claims about Utah's employment picture accurate? |
| Fact check/Did Utah Governor Gary Herbert raise taxes by over $600 million? |
Johnson debated state Senator Jim Dabakis (D) on December 1, 2015, the first of four announced debates between the two. Johnson said he had been asking Herbert to debate for months but was declined. When Johnson announced his candidacy in August, he said,
| “ |
I propose to help you evaluate me and our current governor that we hold a series of debates. Job interviews for our next leader, if you will. Let’s begin them in October. Let’s hold them early, often and throughout the state. Before the clammer of the Presidential election gets any louder and before the legislative session.[3] |
” |
| —Jonathan Johnson, [1] | ||
Herbert was present at the convention but spoke before Johnson. A spokesman for Herbert's campaign said in November that he was focused on his gubernatorial duties and would not debate until at least the beginning of 2016. Herbert and Johnson debated once prior to the GOP convention, but Herbert declined Johnson's invitations for another debate in the days running up to the primary election.[4][5]
Campaign media
Johnson begun airing radio ads on November 30, 2015, calling for reform of the Utah Transit Authority. The ads were the first from his campaign. In a 60-second spot, airing on KSL Newsradio and other stations, Johnson can be heard saying, "No more backroom deals by career politicians. Utah can do it better."[6]
Johnson's campaign consultant Dave Hansen said of the ads, "It's an issue that's prominent right now because of what happened in the election on Proposition 1 and the continued mistakes we see from UTA."[6] Hansen said the ad campaign "is not necessarily directed at the governor."[6]
The transit agency had recently been embroiled in controversy; Chris Bleak, vice chairman of the UTA board, resigned, and two more board members were expected to step down.[6] The commercials were scheduled to air through December 2, 2015.[6]
Campaign finance
Campaign themes
2016
Johnson's campaign website listed the following themes:
| “ |
Leadership: If we want better government, we need to elect, essentially hire, better leaders – leaders who will make difficult decisions, empower people, and deliver great results. Jonathan’s business success demonstrates this type of leadership and the qualities he will bring to the Governor’s office. Business Mentality: Jonathan’s leadership helped propel a Utah start-up into an international business with $1.5 billion in annual sales. Jonathan understands the tools and skills Utah institutions need to take their efforts to the next level … and he knows that government shouldn’t do tasks best left to business. Federalism: Jonathan will turn back the significant encroachment by the federal government in areas such as education and control of public lands. Fiscal Responsibility: Jonathan knows that Utah’s tax dollars come at great sacrifice to the people of Utah. He will run the state’s budget similar to a business budget, examining every aspect for cost-effectiveness. With Jonathan at the helm, Utahns will know their precious tax dollars are spent wisely by a businessman who knows how to stretch a dollar. |
” |
For further information on Johnson's positions, see the "issues" section of Johnson's website here.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Johnson has a wife, Courtney, and five sons. He is on the governing boards of the following organizations:[2]
- Utah Technology Council
- University of Utah Hospital Foundation
- Hale Centre Theatre
- Utah Foundation
- Salt Lake Chamber Clean Air Task Force
- Founding chairman
- Why Jonathan
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Jonathan Johnson Utah Governor. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Utah | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Terry Gildea, KUER 90.1, "Former Overstock.com CEO Johnathon Johnson announces run for governor," August 15, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 HireJJ.com, "About Jonathan," accessed December 2, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Brian Grimmett, KUER 90.1, "Republican gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Johnson to debate Jim Dabakis," November 30, 2015
- ↑ HireJJ.com, "Debate with Dabakis on Fox News," accessed December 2, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Lisa Riley Roche, Desert News, "GOP gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Johnson runs first radio ads," November 30, 2015
