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Former member of Congress · last served 113th Congress

Official portrait of Sen. Tim Johnson

Tim Johnson

DEMOCRAT U.S. Senator · South DakotaSenate 1997–2015 · House 1987–1997 (SD-AL)

Tim Johnson was a Democratic U.S. senator from South Dakota, first elected to Congress in 1987, who voted with most Democrats on 96% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 1 bill that became law (113th–113th Congress).

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16Bills & resolutions sponsored113th–113th Congress (excludes amendments)
2Passed a chamberof 11 substantive bills (excludes resolutions and ceremonial bills)
1Became law1 substantive + 0 ceremonial · 113th–113th Congress
10Broke with partyof 248 yes/no votes, 112th (4.0%)
3Missed votesof 251 roll calls, 112th (1.2%)
—Pork: own shareFY2024 earmarks: not in office

How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.

5 most recent votes

5 most recent bills

Top bills sponsored

Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.

Elections Sen. Johnson has won

Sen. Johnson has won 5 U.S. House elections (1986–1994) and 3 U.S. Senate elections (1996, 2002, 2008). Of the contested races, margins ran from 0.2 to 43.5 points.

010204060Margin of victory, points (axis starts at 0)1986, SD-AL: won by 18.4 points1986SD-AL1988, SD-AL: won by 43.5 points19881990, SD-AL: won by 35.1 points19901992, SD-AL: won by 42.3 points19921994, SD-AL: won by 23.2 points19941996, SD Senate: won by 2.6 points1996SD Senate2002, SD Senate: won by 0.2 points20022008, SD Senate: won by 25.0 points2008
Democratic winRepublican winseat changed partyunopposed
Elections won8 in the data (1976–2024); losses are not listed
Closest win: 0.2 points2002, SD Senate
Won an open seat or took one from the other party2 of 8 elections (open seat or changed party)
Seat history, South Dakota (at-large)Winners, most recent three: Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D) 2004–2008 → Kristi L. Noem (R) 2010–2016 → Dusty Johnson (R) 2018–2024. Elections shown, not terms; special elections not included.
Seat history, South Dakota Senate (class 2)Winners in regular elections, most recent three: Larry Pressler (R) 1978–1990 → Tim Johnson (D) 1996–2008 → Mike Rounds (R) 2014–2020. The seat is next on the ballot in 2026.

Full election history for this seat →

Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.

How has South Dakota done while Sen. Johnson served?

2005 to 2014 in South Dakota: typical household income was up 4% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was about the same, and the share of workers looking for a job was down 1.0 points.

Typical household income · after inflationU.S. $71.4KSouth Dakota $67.8K
South Dakota: $65.1K in 2005 → $67.8K in 2014
South Dakota up 4%U.S. down 4%
Share of people below the poverty lineU.S. 15.5%South Dakota 14.2%
South Dakota: 13.6% in 2005 → 14.2% in 2014
South Dakota about the sameU.S. up 2.2 points
Share of workers looking for a jobU.S. 7.2%South Dakota 3.9%
South Dakota: 4.9% in 2005 → 3.9% in 2014
South Dakota down 1.0 pointsU.S. up 0.3 points

Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Oxblood = state, grey = U.S.

While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in South Dakota during Johnson’s time representing it (1997 to 2015). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.

Survey years start at 2005. The yearly estimates for South Dakota begin in 2005, so 1997 to 2004 are not shown. No 2020 yearly estimate exists.

See the full 20-year record →Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates (tables B19013, B17001, B23001) and BLS CPI-U-RS for inflation, retrieved October 18, 2026. “About the same” means the change is inside the 90% margins of error. Who held the seat: Congress.gov member service records, year level.

Official records on bills this member sponsored

113th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 16 bills sponsored.

RecordBillsSource
Bills sponsored16Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them →
With a CBO cost estimate listed3See the 3 →
With a committee report listed4See the 4 →
Evidence
How counted
Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 113th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
Fields
cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
PORKER copy refreshed
October 26, 2026 (nightly)

Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.

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Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded Senate vote Sep 30, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.