Nancy Elizabeth Johnson (née Lee; born January 5, 1935) is an American lobbyist and politician from the state of Connecticut.

[citation needed] She was an active volunteer in the schools and social service agencies of her community, before serving in the Connecticut Senate from 1977 to 1983.

Had Al Gore won the 2000 presidential election, Johnson was widely considered to be the front runner[4] to win the appointment of Governor John G. Rowland to serve in the United States Senate, filling the seat of Gore's running mate Joe Lieberman.

In April 2006, Johnson became the target of a negative ad campaign run by a political action committee, MoveOn.org, which alleged ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX).

[7] In late October, Chris Murphy had a slight lead, and heading into the election, polls showed him ahead by four points.

[8] Johnson ultimately lost the race in November to Chris Murphy by 12 points;[9] the only House incumbent to suffer a worse defeat was John Hostettler (IN-08).

Articles in the Hartford Courant speculated that Johnson's negative TV ads, which accused Murphy of coddling sex offenders and drug dealers, may have proven counterproductive.

On May 15, 2006, Johnson announced she would submit legislation to waive penalties for those who miss deadlines to enroll in Medicare Part D, reacting to widespread criticism of the Johnson-authored program.

In 1983, Johnson was one of the original congressional members of the United States House Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families.

[18][failed verification] Following her career in Congress, in 2007 Johnson became a resident fellow at Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

[20] In October 2007, Johnson endorsed former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

[21] In 2013, Johnson was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.