John D. Johnson (politician)

John D. Johnson is an American academic and politician who is a member of the Utah State Senate from the 3rd district. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office on January 1, 2021. He represented the 19th district between 2021 and 2023 prior to redistricting.

Early life and education
A native of Weber County, Utah, Johnson graduated from Weber High School in 1977. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Weber State University and a PhD in economics from Texas A&M University.

Career
In 1986 and 1987, Johnson was a visiting professor of economics at Southern Methodist University. From 1987 to 2000, he was an associate professor at the University of Mississippi. Johnson became a professor and chair of the management and information systems department at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business in 2006. Professor Johnson has consistently received poor reviews for his performance as an instructor at USU. His rating at RateMyProfessors.com is a 3.5 out of 5.0, with only 40% of his students stating that they would take a course from him again.

Johnson has founded several companies, including FNC_Inc. and Politicit which is a political podcast.

Johnson was elected to the Utah Senate in November 2020, defeating Democratic nominee Katy Owens. During the campaign, Johnson characterized himself as a "Reagan Republican". Johnson has been given a progress report of an F (-4 out of 34) for his 2024 voting record by The Alliance for a Better Utah. He also received an F in 2023, 2022, and 2021 from the same organization. He has largely funded his own campaign through his own financial means, with very little support, by way of funding, coming from any supporters.