Jeff Johnson back to work at Hennepin County after grueling governor's race

One of the toughest things about losing an election comes the week after, not the night of, says Jeff Johnson, the Hennepin County commissioner and endorsed GOP candidate for governor who lost to Gov. Mark Dayton.

"Everyone gives you a hug and acts like your dad just died," he said. "I'd rather just move on. My dad's alive and well, so life is pretty good."

During the fall campaign, Johnson, who describes himself as a glass-half-full guy with a strong religious faith, appeared to seamlessly hold down a full-time job as a county commissioner representing the largest geographic swath of Hennepin County, the northern and westernmost cities. He didn't miss a board meeting. And he didn't bring his campaign into the boardroom.

"Losing stinks; it doesn't matter what it is," Johnson said. But, he added, "I got over it pretty quickly."

He spent the fall zooming around the state talking about his conservative vision for cutting costs and running things more efficiently. Now he's back to the seven-person board dominated by DFLers.

Johnson often finds himself on the losing end of lopsided votes. Still, he offers nothing but praise for his board colleagues, saying he wouldn't be surprised if they were under pressure to bring up issues for political theater to hurt his campaign. But the board's DFL leadership didn't do that, even though such gamesmanship "happens every day" at the Legislature, Johnson said.

Commissioner Jan Callison said the board understood Johnson's passion to be governor and had no desire to "embarrass" or "trip him up."

"People wanted to give him a chance to make his case," she said. "People in elected office understand the effort" it takes to run for and hold office.

Johnson said he's now drilling full-bore into county issues. He plans to revive a dormant effort to get pay-for-performance measures into county salaries. Another pet project: making sure the 911 system is working well. And he plans to delve more into the area of public safety, he said.

He's got a couple of more years in his term as a commissioner but hasn't decided whether he will run for re-election.

Reflections on the race

Johnson and his aides are taking a hard look at the election results to figure out what they could have done better, but he won't run for that office again.

"I have no big regrets," he said. "But there are some things I might do differently." He said he would have spent more money on social media and might have tried harder to point out his differences with Dayton, but he said there was nothing "dramatic" that he would have done.

"In the end, what killed me was Republican turnout," he said, adding that he won among independents, but that the DFL had a huge turnout advantage in urban areas.

Johnson said he knew he faced an uphill campaign because of Dayton's name recognition and popularity. He also faced a difficult battle to get his own party's endorsement and nomination.

He recalled getting "clobbered" in a straw poll from late February's precinct caucuses, coming in third. Within a couple of days, he was in a car driving five hours in a 30-below windchill to get to a debate in northern Minnesota. The car sputtered en route, but he made it to the debate — and didn't do well, he said. He made the five-hour drive home in a car with no heat.

"I remember thinking, 'This is not the greatest idea in the world,' but then the next day comes," Johnson said.

He also discovered the perils of Twitter on that drive home, reading about how he was "done" and no longer a viable candidate. He tried to stay away from Twitter, finding it hard to adjust to its nonstop roller coaster of approval and disapproval.

"Literally, from hour to hour, people change their mind on whether you're a winner or a loser," Johnson said. One person sends a nasty tweet, seven people would retweet it "and the whole world is coming to an end," he said, recalling the feeling.

Now he's off that ride and on to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., with his wife and two sons for their first family vacation in 18 months.

Life 'back to normal'

When a political candidate loses an election, everything hits a wall. The candidate goes from working 100-hour weeks of moving nonstop, dialing for dollars, talking to voters, preparing for debates, participating in debates and only occasionally eating and sleeping.

"It's amazing how just immediately your life goes back to normal," Johnson said. "It's crazy how dramatically life can change in 24 hours."

Some changes are welcome, including returning to a healthier lifestyle. "In the heat of a campaign, your eating is really poor and you don't exercise much," he said.

His health was further troubled when he "burned a hole" in his stomach and landed in the hospital for a week just before the primary, he said. The hole was caused by medication he was taking for a bad back. He's now got back surgery scheduled after the Florida trip.

He's also back to teaching confirmation classes at his church, something he hadn't been able to do in recent months.

He credits his faith for helping him see the positive in a loss. "God puts you in places" where you are meant to do good work, Johnson said.

On a more superficial level, he was sporting a bright pink necktie at Tuesday's board meeting. He hadn't worn it in a while — campaigning in rural areas calls for a more down-home, less outré wardrobe.

"I haven't been able to wear it for a year and a half," he said of the tie. "I would have lost half my votes in greater Minnesota."

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747

@rochelleolson