He was President Pro Tempore of the Senate for the 87th General Assembly session from 2009 to 2011.
He is a graduate of Bigelow High School and has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Thirty-five at the time he became Speaker, he was then youngest man in Arkansas history to hold that position.
[2] Johnson is one of a handful of Arkansas legislators who have served both as Speaker of the House and as President Pro Tem of the Senate.
He represented Senate District 18, which comprises Conway, Perry, and Van Buren counties and portions of Cleburne, Faulkner, Pope, and Saline counties.