All 100 seats in the Kentucky House are up for grabs in the November general election.
Republicans hold a super-majority in the chamber, but a newcomer to state politics is hoping to return Daviess County's 13th District seat to Democrats. He’s challenging the Republican incumbent who knows very well that every vote matters.
The race features two Mr. Johnson’s, both military veterans from Owensboro. Republican State Representative DJ Johnson is being challenged by Democrat Michael Johnson who hopped into his black Ford truck last week and drove out Highway 54 to the community of Philpot.
“My main goal going out her today is just to meet folks and introduce myself," Johnson told WKU Public Radio. "I call this the sprint to the finish. This is it."
With campaign literature in hand, Johnson stopped to canvass some homes on Countryside Drive. He estimates he’s knocked on 1,000 doors so far in this district.
“It’s mostly working class issues folks are talking about when I meet them," Johnson said. "It’s those kitchen table issues of life they’re trying to figure out.”
The 13th District includes the eastern half of Daviess County, including the cities of Owensboro and Philpot. The district used to cover mostly Owensboro only, but redistricting this year moved the district further into the county. Daviess County has more registered Democrats, but Michael Johnson says the race is more competitive since redistricting placed more Republican voters in the district.
“I have to really do my homework and really work to gain the Republican vote because some switch, but there’s also independents," he said.
Michael Johnson currently serves as Vice Chair of the Owensboro Public Schools Board. Education is the most important issue to him. Endorsed by the Kentucky Education Association, Johnson wants more funding for education, universal pre-K, and higher pay for teachers and child care workers.
He’s also the leader of a local non-profit that serves the low-income and homeless, a retired Navy officer, ordained minister, and father of seven.
He’s challenging GOP incumbent State Rep. DJ Johnson who was first elected to the seat in 2016, becoming the first Republican in a decade to win the 13th District House seat.
He lost his re-election bid in 2018 to Democrat Jim Glenn by one vote. Following a drawn out recanvass and recount, Johnson eventually stepped away from his challenge, and ran again in 2020, winning by about 1,300 votes.
DJ Johnson is feeling pretty confident about his re-election chances, given redistricting and the statewide trend of Republicans outpacing Democrats in new voter registrations. However, given his one-vote loss four years ago, Johnson isn’t taking anything for granted. He knocked on doors last week along Hill Avenue in Owensboro.
Part of the GOP incumbent's pitch to one homeowner who answered the door went like this: "I usually shorten the conversation this way. I’m the conservative. I’m the Republican in the race. If that makes sense to you, I’d love to have your support. If it doesn’t, I get it."
DJ Johnson is a former U.S. Army captain whose chief priority is defending the constitution. While he agrees with his challenger on the need for a new judicial center and increased home rule for Daviess County, he parts ways with Michael Johnson on thornier issues like expanded gambling and school vouchers.
Abortion is another key difference between the two nominees for the 13th District House seat. Rep. Johnson says he’ll vote in support of the constitutional amendmenton the ballot which states the Kentucky Constitution guarantees no right to abortion.
“When there’s conception, there’s a life created and I don’t give it special rights over the mother or anybody else, but I think it’s a life that should have the same rights as everybody else," Johnson said. "My position is we have to respect life even life in the womb.”
DJ Johnson says he doesn’t support exceptions other than to save the life of the mother. Democratic challenger Michael Johnson, an ordained minister, supports full access to abortion.
“You can’t intrude on women’s reproductive rights," he said. "Abortion is a personal issue for women and we don’t have the right to impede on that at the state level.”
Asked what he hopes to do in the state legislature that he hasn’t been able to do in past terms, DJ Johnson says he’d like to see Kentucky’s tax modernization plan reach the finish line. The General Assembly is on a path toward lowering the income tax rate slightly each year until the tax is eliminated, which he says would make Kentucky more competitive with neighboring Tennessee.
“I believe the best tax system for any state is a consumption tax as opposed to a productivity tax," Johnson said. "When you have an income tax, that’s a productivity tax. I would like to see as you choose things you want to buy, that’s when you pay the tax.”
DJ Johnson and Michael Johnson will debate on Oct. 24 in a forum at the Bluegrass Music Museum. Their final joint appearance will take place Oct. 27 outside the Daviess County Courthouse for the Owensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Red, White, and Blue event.
When the next General Assembly convenes, Mr. Johnson will go to Frankfort. Voters in Kentucky’s 13th House District will determine which one that is.
