He is a son of Vivian L. Pluff of Onsted, Michigan, and Gary S. Johnson of Richland, Pennsylvania.

She was a Deputy Manager of Barack Obama's 2012 presidential reelection campaign,[9] having previously served as White House Social Secretary, Deputy Assistant to the President,[10] and Chief of Staff to United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

During his time there he traveled to Iraq to help with the installation of a political system based on democratic governance.

[7][5] During the election, his opponent made the employment of his wife, Julianna Smoot, in the Obama reelection effort a campaign issue.

[14][18] The two-year position was voted on during the Michigan Democratic Party Convention at Cobo Hall in Detroit on February 23, 2013.

[4][21] Johnson said he intended to hire an executive director to oversee day-to-day operations of the state headquarters while he focused on campaign and outreach efforts.

Brewer announced his decision to thousands of delegates to withdraw rather than continue a floor election.

He faced Republican nominee Jack Bergman in the November 2016 general election.