Ron Johnson (U.S. politician)
| Ron Johnson | |
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United States Senator from Wisconsin |
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Assumed office January 3, 2011 Serving with Tammy Baldwin |
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| Preceded by | Russ Feingold |
| Chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee | |
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Assumed office January 3, 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Tom Carper |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ronald Harold Johnson April 8, 1955 Mankato, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Johnson (1977–present) |
| Alma mater |
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (BS) |
| Website | Senate website |
Ronald Harold "Ron" Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is the senior United States Senator for Wisconsin and a member of the Republican Party. Prior to his election to the Senate, he was chief executive officer of PACUR, LLC, a polyester and plastics manufacturer.
Johnson was born in Mankato, Minnesota, the son of Jeanette Elizabeth (née Thisius) and Dale Robert Johnson. His father was of Norwegian descent and his mother was of German ancestry. While growing up, Johnson delivered newspapers, worked as a caddy at a golf course, baled hay on his uncle's dairy farm, and worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant. He attended the University of Minnesota while working full-time and graduated in 1977 with a degree in business and accounting. He continued studying until 1979 but did not receive a postgraduate degree.
In 1979, Johnson moved to Wisconsin with his wife Jane, and both started working for PACUR, a custom sheet extruder company, with his wife's brother, Patrick Curler, for whom the company was named. PACUR had been created a few months before Johnson arrived in Wisconsin with funding from Patrick and from Jane's father Howard Curler. PACUR's sole customer for the first several years of the company's existence was a company called Bemis, which was run by Howard Curler.
For nearly a year, Johnson worked as the accountant and as a machine operator, trading 12-hour shifts with his brother-in-law, with whom he also shared a small cot. The company later expanded into the area of medical device packaging, which involved hiring salespeople and exporting products to other countries. In the mid-80s Pat Curler left PACUR and Johnson became CEO. In 1987, the Curler family sold PACUR to Bowater Industries for $18 million. Bowater kept Johnson on as the company's CEO. In 1997, Johnson purchased PACUR from Bowater; he remained as the company's CEO until he was elected to the US Senate in 2010.
The 2010 US Senate campaign was Johnson's first run for elective office. He was described as a "political blank slate" because he had no history of campaigning or holding office. He attracted the attention of the Tea Party movement when he gave two emotional speeches at Tea Party rallies. According to The New York Times, he said he "did kind of spring out of the Tea Party" and is glad to be associated with it, although he did not subsequently join the Senate Tea Party Caucus.
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Wikipedia