Joseph P. Johnson

Not to be confused with Joseph A. Johnson.

Joseph Pickett Johnson Jr. (December 12, 1931 – August 5, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician of the Democratic Party. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1966 to 1969, and again from 1990 until 2014. He represented the 4th district in the southwest part of the state, including the city of Bristol and parts of Smyth and Washington Counties from 1992 to 2014.^[1]

Joseph P. Johnson
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
In office January 10, 1990 – January 8, 2014
Preceded by	John C. Brown
Succeeded by	Ben Chafin
Constituency	6th district (1990–1992) 4th district (1992–2014)
In office January 12, 1966 – January 14, 1970 Serving with James B. Fugate
Preceded by	J. Russell Moore
Succeeded by	Ford C. Quillen
Constituency	63rd district
Personal details
Born	Joseph Pickett Johnson Jr. (1931-12-12)December 12, 1931 Washington County, Virginia, U.S.
Died	August 5, 2022(2022-08-05) (aged 90)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary Ann Allison ​ (died 2022)​
Children	3
Education	Emory & Henry College (BA) University of Richmond (LLB)
Occupation	Lawyer politician
Military service
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1951–1955
Battles/wars	Korean War

Johnson ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in 1968, losing the 9th congressional district race to the Republican incumbent, William C. Wampler.

Johnson announced that he would not run for reelection in 2013.^[2]

Personal life

Johnson was married to the former Mary Ann Allison for 64 years, until her death on July 19, 2022.^[3] They had three children: Mary Jo (Neal), Joseph Pickett III, and Sage. Johnson died on August 5, 2022, aged 90, less than three weeks after his wife; six grandchildren: Mary Lewis Huffman (Neal), Ashley Brooke Hemmer (Johnson), Mary Catherine Clark (Johnson), Joseph Zachary Johnson, Finn Alexander Johnson, William Pickett Johnson; and three great grandchildren: Emma Grace Clark, Isley Ann Clark and Joseph Beckett Johnson.^[3]

Electoral history

Date	Election	Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Virginia House of Delegates, Washington, Scott and Bristol city district
November 8, 1965[4]	General	Joseph P Johnson Jr	Democratic	6,435	36.01
		James B. Fugate		5,491	30.72
		Others (2)		5,946	32.27
		J. Russell Moore retired; district switched from 1 Democratic, 1 Republican to 2 Democratic
November 3, 1967[4]	General	Joseph P Johnson Jr	Democratic	12,752	31.02
		James B. Fugate		10,334	25.14
		Others (2)		18,025	43.85
U.S. House of Representatives, Virginia 9th congressional district
November 5, 1968[4]	General	William C. Wampler	Republican	71,531	59.89
		Joseph P Johnson Jr	Democratic	47,906	40.11
		Incumbent won; seat stayed Republican
Virginia House of Delegates, 6th district
November 3, 1989[4]	General	Joseph P Johnson Jr	Democratic	8,603	57.98
		C Randall Lowe	Republican	6,232	42.00
		Write Ins		2	0.02
		John C. Brown retired; seat switched from Republican to Democratic
Virginia House of Delegates, 4th district
November 5, 1991[4]	General	Joseph P Johnson Jr	Democratic	13,431	99.98
		Write Ins		3	0.02
		Jackie Stump was redistricted out; seat switched from independent to Democratic
November 2, 1993[4]	General	Joseph P Johnson Jr	Democratic	10,977	99.94
		Write Ins		7	0.06
November 7, 1995[5]	General	J P Johnson Jr	Democratic	11,413	99.96
		Write Ins		5	0.04
November 4, 1997[6]	General	J P Johnson Jr	Democratic	11,337	99.72
		Write Ins		32	0.28
November 2, 1999[7]	General	J P Johnson Jr	Democratic	10,221	99.84
		Write Ins		16	0.16
November 6, 2001[8]	General	J P Johnson Jr	Democratic	12,671	99.65
		Write Ins		45	0.35
November 4, 2003[9]	General	J P Johnson Jr	Democratic	8,595	99.77
		Write Ins		20	0.23
November 8, 2005[10]	General	J P Johnson Jr	Democratic	15,418	98.88
		Write Ins		175	1.12
November 6, 2007[11]	General	Joseph P. Johnson, Jr.	Democratic	10,583	99.19
		Write Ins		86	0.18
November 3, 2009[12]	General	Joseph P. Johnson, Jr.	Democratic	13,032	97.14
		Write Ins		383	2.85
November 8, 2011[13]	General	Joseph P. Johnson, Jr.	Democratic	14,487	98.53
		Write Ins		216	1.46