Jesse Johnson (West Virginia politician)


Jesse C. Johnson Jr. is an Executive Committee member and former Chair of the Mountain Party. He has three times been his party's nominee for Governor of West Virginia, and twice for West Virginia's Class 1 U.S. Senate seat, running in 2006 and again in the special election in 2010. Johnson lost both times. He has also been a filmmaker, actor, and theatrical producer.

Life and career

Born in Charleston, West Virginia, Johnson attended, at various times, Marshall University, North Carolina School of the Arts, the University of Charleston, and West Liberty University. He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, Actor's Equity, AFTRA, and SAG's Native American Registry and has worked with both the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America.

Political campaigns

In 2004, Johnson was the Mountain nominee for governor in order to maintain the party's newly-won ballot line and to bring the issue of mountain top removal to statewide attention. He received 2.5% of the vote.
In 2006, Johnson was the Mountain nominee for U.S. Senate. He campaigned against corporate influence of the elections. Johnson neither took nor spent money, focusing on the need for campaign finance reform. He received 1.9% of the vote.
In 2008, Johnson sought the Green Party nomination for president and won his home state of West Virginia in the Green primaries. He received the endorsement of former United States Senator and former 2008 presidential candidate Mike Gravel, among others. At the 2008 Green National Convention, Johnson lost the nomination to former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.
In 2008, he again ran for governor. His campaign was endorsed by the Sierra Club and the Citizens Action Committee. He received 21,472 votes.
In the 2010 special election for the late Robert Byrd's Senate seat in West Virginia, his opponents were Joe Manchin, the Democratic Party nominee, who won the seat, John Raese, the Republican Party nominee, and Jeff Becker, the Constitution Party nominee. Johnson was endorsed by former Democratic Congressman Ken Hechler to fill the seat.
Johnson was the 2012 Mountain nominee for the West Virginia Governor. He finished third in a field of four.