Changes

==Political years==

==Political years==

Johnson filled the District 20 state House seat vacated by Lantz Womack, a [[banker]] and [[farmer]] from Winnsboro, who ran unsuccessfully for Louisiana state agriculture commissioner in the first-ever nonpartisan blanket primary held in Louisiana on November 1, 1975.<ref>State of Louisiana, Secretary of State, Election returns, November 1, 1975.</ref> In the legislative race, Johnson defeated a fellow Democrat, Joe Morse "Bobo" Gravelle (1931-2007) of Winnsboro, a petroleum marketer and banking director, the former director of the North Delta Regional Planning Commission. and at the time of the election a member of the Franklin Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body. Johnson received 5,362 votes (55.2 percent); Gravelle, 4,380 (44.8 percent).<ref>Billy Hathorn, "Education in Tensas Parish, Louisiana: Desegregation, Re-Segregation, and the Continuing Decline in School Enrollments, 1970-2017", ''[[North Louisiana History]]'', Vol. 49 (Winter and Spring 2018, p. 49.</ref>  

Johnson filled the District 20 state House seat vacated by Lantz Womack, a [[banker]] and [[farmer]] from Winnsboro, who ran unsuccessfully for Louisiana state agriculture commissioner in the first-ever nonpartisan blanket primary held in Louisiana on November 1, 1975.<ref>State of Louisiana, Secretary of State, Election returns, November 1, 1975.</ref> In the legislative race, Johnson defeated a fellow Democrat, Joe Morse "Bobo" Gravelle (1931-2007) of Winnsboro, a petroleum marketer and banking director, the former director of the North Delta Regional Planning Commission. and at the time of the election a member of the Franklin Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body. Johnson received 5,362 votes (55.2 percent); Gravelle, 4,380 (44.8 percent).<ref>Billy Hathorn, "Education in Tensas Parish, Louisiana: Desegregation, Re-Segregation, and the Continuing Decline in School Enrollments, 1970-2017," ''[[North Louisiana History]],'' Vol. 49 (Winter and Spring 2018), p. 49.</ref>  

Four years later, Johnson ran unsuccessfully in the primary for the state Senate. The victor in the 1979 senatorial [[general election]] was his state House colleague, [[Dan Richey|Daniel Wesley "Dan" Richey, Sr.]], then of Ferriday in Concordia Parish, a Democrat<ref>{{cite web|url=http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/1880membership.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana State Senate, 1880–2020|publisher=Louisiana State Senate|accessdate=December 31, 2019}}</ref> who years later switched to [[Republican Party|Republican]] affiliation. Richey defeated  Mary Lou Trawick Winters (1935-2014) of Columbia in Caldwell Parish, then the [[Democratic National Committee]]woman and political associate of former [[Governor]] [[John J. McKeithen]]. A former House member, David Ivy Patten (1923-1998), a contractor from Harrisonburg in Catahoula Parish, also ran unsuccessfully in the senatorial primary.<ref>State of Louisiana, Election returns, 1979 primary and general election.</ref>

Four years later, Johnson ran unsuccessfully in the primary for the state Senate. The victor in the 1979 senatorial [[general election]] was his state House colleague, [[Dan Richey|Daniel Wesley "Dan" Richey, Sr.]], then of Ferriday in Concordia Parish, a Democrat<ref>{{cite web|url=http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/1880membership.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana State Senate, 1880–2020|publisher=Louisiana State Senate|accessdate=December 31, 2019}}</ref> who years later switched to [[Republican Party|Republican]] affiliation. Richey defeated  Mary Lou Trawick Winters (1935-2014) of Columbia in Caldwell Parish, then the [[Democratic National Committee]]woman and political associate of former [[Governor]] [[John J. McKeithen]]. A former House member, David Ivy Patten (1923-1998), a contractor from Harrisonburg in Catahoula Parish, also ran unsuccessfully in the senatorial primary.<ref>State of Louisiana, Election returns, 1979 primary and general election.</ref>