Tim Johnson Recovered From Aneurysm to Preserve Majority

Tim Johnson, a South Dakota senator whose stroke led to a monthslong drama over which party would control the US Senate before he recovered and returned to his job, died Tuesday in Sioux Falls. He was 77. The cause was complications from a stroke, the New York Times reports. In nearly three decades in the House and Senate, the centrist Democrat built a record of delivering federal spending to his state, per the AP. "He never saw himself as the Democratic member in Congress from South Dakota," said Drey Samuelson, Johnson's chief of staff for his entire congressional career. "He saw himself as the congressman or senator from South Dakota, regardless of people's party."

In December 2006, Johnson started to slur his words and become disoriented while speaking at a news conference in Washington. Doctors found that a rare birth defect had led to a brain hemorrhage. He had surgery and was in an induced coma for weeks, per the Times. With Democrats holding a 51-49 edge in the Senate, Republican Vice President Dick Cheney holding tiebreaking power, and a Republican governor back home positioned to appoint any successor to Johnson, what many considered distasteful speculation about control of the chamber began. But it was unnecessary; Johnson returned to work in September 2007.

He spoke more slowly and was generally weakened but maintained his mind was as sharp as ever. He had lost some control of his right side, so he learned to write with his left hand and cruised the Capitol on a scooter. His recovery was clear enough that he was reelected to a third term. With South Dakota solidly Republican by 2013, Johnson announced he was retiring. He said winning elections had become more important than reaching bipartisan compromise, per the AP. "We have lost our way," he said in his departure speech in December 2014. On his first trip to South Dakota after the aneurysm, he made an assurance to his constituents. "I will promise you that when my speech is back to normal, I will not act like a typical politician and overuse the gift," he said. "Of course, I believe I have an unfair edge over most of my colleagues right now—my mind works faster than my mouth does." (More obituary stories.)