# Mark Johnson (Minnesota politician) *Minnesota state senator and Republican legislative leader from northwestern Minnesota* Mark Johnson is an American lawyer and a Republican member of the [[Minnesota Senate]].[^1] His district in northwestern [[Minnesota]] includes parts of Kittson, Marshall, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, Norman and Roseau counties.[^1] He has served as the Senate's acting majority leader. As of the cited Wikipedia revision, retrieved October 26, 2026, he held the post of minority leader.[^1] Johnson first won his Senate seat in 2016 and won a second term in 2020.[^1] The sources in this record document his education, legal practice and Senate service. They do not document any vote, bill, filing or statement by Johnson on [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]]. They also document none on the lawsuit the [[United States Department of Justice]] filed against the State on January 14, 2026, and this article attributes no such action to him.[^1][^2] ## Early life, education, and career Johnson grew up in the Mentor, Minnesota, area and finished high school at Fertile-Beltrami.[^1] He holds an undergraduate degree from Bethel University and a law degree (J.D.) from the University of North Dakota.[^1] He owns a law practice based in East Grand Forks, Minnesota, and holds a partnership stake in a concrete company run by his family.[^1] ## Minnesota Senate In 2016 Johnson won the seat by a wide margin. He followed LeRoy Stumpf, who left the chamber after 34 years of service, and voters returned Johnson to office in 2020.[^1] He later served as the Senate's acting majority leader. By the cited revision, he had become minority leader.[^1] ## Personal life Johnson lives in East Grand Forks. He and his wife, Skyler, are the parents of three children.[^1] ## In the Minnesota record ### What On January 14, 2026, the United States filed *United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn.), under [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] (see [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]]).[^2] The complaint cites Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 eight times. Among those citations is subdivision 3(c), which requires an agency to explain its reason for hiring a non-affirmative candidate.[^2] The Department's Office of Public Affairs announced the suit in release No. 26-21. The release is titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*.[^3] Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^3] The sources cited here record the filing and the certification. They record no ruling or other disposition.[^2][^3] The U.S. government has used "regime" for governments it opposes. The [[Iraq Liberation Act]] of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-338), for example, states a policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein."[^4] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages ([[How Minnesota Got Here]], note 40) finds Minnesota the only U.S. state so described.[^4] None of the sources in this record names Johnson in connection with the suit.[^2][^3] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Mark Johnson (Minnesota politician)* (revision 1354895054, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Johnson's party, district counties, leadership posts, upbringing, education, business interests, 2016 and 2020 elections, predecessor and family. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Johnson_(Minnesota_politician) [^2]: United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint, United States v. State of Minnesota*, No. 0:26-cv-00273 (D. Minn. filed Jan. 14, 2026) — filing date, docket, Title VII basis, and eight citations of Minn. Stat. § 43A.191 including subd. 3(c). https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1423361/dl [^3]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — release title and Attorney General Bondi's certification of the case as a matter of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^4]: United States Congress, *Iraq Liberation Act of 1998*, Pub. L. 105-338 (1998) — statutory policy of supporting efforts to remove "the regime headed by Saddam Hussein"; cited by the project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-105publ338/pdf/PLAW-105publ338.pdf