$250,000 Helps Establish Middle Ground
Former Rep. Timothy Johnson, R-Ill., has established a federal PAC with $257,851 left over from his earlier campaigns.
Johnson has established Middle Ground PAC by converting his former campaign committee, Friends of Tim Johnson. The committee had $257,851 in cash on hand at the end of last year. Johnson raised $4.3 million in campaign funds from 1999 through 2012, with half coming from PACs.
The PAC name is appropriate since he was among the lawmakers most likely to buck his party’s leadership. In 2010 his party unity score was 80 percent, up from a low of 69 percent in 2007. For example, in the 112th Congress, he did not support extending the Patriot Act. In 2007 he voted against sending additional troops into Iraq.
It is unclear whether the new PAC will support the current Republican incumbent in the 13th District. The district is now represented by freshman Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill. Davis was chosen by party committeemen over Johnson’s choice of a former staff member. Erika Harold, the 2003 winner of the Miss America pageant, has announced her plans to run as a Republican against Davis.
