'Never Trump' Iowa Sen. David Johnson won't seek re-election

William Petroski | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Sen. David Johnson talks about being an independent legislator From 2017: Sen. David Johnson, I-Ocheyedan, talks about serving in the Iowa Senate as a political independent.

State Sen. David Johnson, who quit the Republican Party of Iowa in protest of Donald Trump's presidential candidacy in 2016, said Thursday he has dropped plans to seek re-election as a political independent in November.

Johnson, a resident of Ocheyedan in far northwest Iowa who has served nearly 20 years in the Iowa Legislature, issued a statement announcing his decision and pledging to work for his constituents until his term ends in January.

“First and foremost, I want to thank all those who have supported my efforts to shine a spotlight on how polarized and partisan the political process has become,” Johnson said. “As a private citizen, I will find a place to be an advocate for education, the environment, access to health care and fiscal responsibility.”

Johnson, 67, a former newspaper publisher and editor, became a political independent two years ago when it became apparent the Republican Party was about to embrace Trump as its presidential nominee.

"I will not stand silent if the party of Lincoln and the end of slavery buckles under the racial bias of a bigot," Johnson said at the time, adding, "Mark me down as Never Trump."

His criticism was prompted by Trump's comments that federal Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel, who was presiding over a lawsuit involving the now-closed Trump University, was biased because of his Mexican heritage. The judge was born in the United States.

Johnson, who was Iowa's first independent state legislator in 45 years, had announced in December he intended to run for a fifth term in the Senate. But state and local GOP leaders had vowed to target him for defeat in one of the most heavily Republican Senate districts in Iowa.

Sen. David Johnson on why he left Republican Party From 2016: Sen. David Johnson talks about his decision to leave the Republican Party in opposition to Donald Trump and to become a political independent.

Cody Hoefert of Rock Rapids, co-chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa and one of Johnson's constituents, said Thursday he wanted to thank Johnson for doing the right thing by not seeking re-election. He said that Senate District 1, which borders South Dakota and Minnesota, is an overwhelmingly Republican district that deserves to be represented by a conservative Republican in the Iowa Senate.

Iowa Secretary of State's records show that 50 percent of the voters in Senate District 1 are registered Republicans, while just 18 percent are registered Democrats. Nearly all the remaining voters listed as no party.

"Re-election for Sen. Johnson was going to be very difficult," Hoefert said. "I think he looked at the math — looked at the numbers — and came to a very realistic conclusion that for him to be re-elected up here with his voting record for the past two years... It was not going to happen."

Johnson told the Des Moines Register on Thursday that he had prepared paperwork to run as an independent. But after the Legislature adjourned in May and he spent time traveling and visiting with family members, he concluded that a 20-year run as a state lawmaker was enough.

Johnson said if he had followed through with an independent candidacy this fall, he would have faced an "ugly campaign" even though he had toed the Republican Party line for 18 years previously in the Iowa House and Senate.

As the Legislature's only political independent, Johnson had often voted with Senate Democrats, although he joined Republicans near the end of the 2018 session to vote for a "fetal heartbeat" bill that bans nearly all abortions in Iowa. He voted against GOP-sponsored legislation that cuts state taxes by $2.1 billion over the next six years, saying it will create a "huge train wreck" for state government.

Johnson, a native of West Branch, said he still considers himself a "Bob Ray Republican," referring to former Iowa Gov. Robert Ray, who was known as a political moderate. His late father, Donald Johnson, was a national commander of the American Legion and head of the Veterans Administration under President Richard Nixon. He said the Iowa GOP has veered far to the right, to his dismay, "and this is not the Republican Party that I grew up with."

Hoefert sees things differently. He said voters in Johnson's district had re-elected him four years ago as a Republican, and he believes Johnson left the Republican Party, rather than the Republican Party leaving Johnson.

"When you look at his voting record the for last two years, the only thing that he has been consistently conservative on is the life issue — and we thank him for that. But when it comes to Second Amendment issues, tax issues and all the other issues that folks care about up here, he has been on the wrong side of it during a historic, two-year session," Hoefert said.

Three Republicans are battling in Tuesday's primary election to become the party's nominee in the race to succeed Johnson in the Iowa Senate. No one from the Democratic Party has announced plans to campaign for the seat, but Hoefert said it's likely that Democrats will hold a convention to nominate a candidate in the wake of Johnson's decision not to run. Hoefert had anticipated that Democrats would have supported Johnson if he had filed as an independent candidate.