Former Senate Banking Chair Tim Johnson died at 77 Tuesday following complications from a stroke.
The South Dakota Democrat retired in 2015 after serving three terms in the Senate and five terms in the House. He replaced former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) at the helm of Senate Banking in 2011 following Dodd’s retirement.
“As a fourth generation South Dakotan, fighting for the state he loved was the greatest privilege of his life, but he considered his family his greatest blessing,” his family said in a statement Wednesday. “Watching his three children and eight grandchildren grow and thrive with Barbara, his wife of 55 years, at his side brought him immense pride and joy.”
The moderate won his Senate seat from incumbent Republican Larry Pressler in 1996, and narrowly defeated now-Sen. John Thune for reelection in 2002. He survived a life-threatening brain hemorrhage in 2006 before returning to the Senate in 2007 to two standing ovations from colleagues.
“Tim always quipped that neither the left, nor the right, had a monopoly on all of the good ideas, but that working together, we can find common ground for the good of our country,” his family said. “In his work and life, Tim showed us never to give up.”