Michigan Dems Dump Longtime Chair, Elect New Leader

[Purveyor]

1. More...

Johnson was officially elected the new chairman shortly after Brewer's concession. He is vice president of a private equity firm and a veteran of national political campaigns.

Johnson and his supporters are frustrated that presidential and U.S. Senate candidates win Michigan easily, but Republicans control all of the state government.

--clip
The battle for leadership came as the party was reeling from the passage of right-to-work legislation in December and as it looked ahead to the 2014 elections.

Johnson, who lost a state House race last fall in a conservative district in northern Michigan, has worked on the campaigns of U.S. Rep. John Dingell and presidential nominee Al Gore. His wife, Julianna Smoot, is a former White House social secretary who most recently served as deputy manager for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130223/NEWS/130229928/state-dems-dump-longtime-chair-mark-brewer-elect-lon-johnson