What is your earliest political memory?
Listening to my parents discuss whether a Roman Catholic could be elected president. My recollection was that they were pretty sure it couldn’t happen—although they were right about most everything else.
Who is your political hero?
It’s hard to be raised in Virginia and not put Patrick Henry near the top of what, in my case, is a pretty short list.
Who is the Democrat you admire most?
That’s easy. Ronald Reagan.
What is your best political story from the campaign trail?
A colleague and I were travelling with phony business credentials in an African country not particularly friendly to foreign political consultants. I was picked up at the airport and transferred to a second car once we left the airport grounds. Our new host was driving with the headlights off down a road lit only by a very pale moon. After a couple of miles I asked him if there was a reason he was driving with the lights off. “Well, the ruling party has just put out their new death list,” he said, “and I’m Number Four, so we try not to make it easy for them.”
What would you be doing professionally if you were not working in politics?
I assume I’d do more of the non-political things I do now. I’m editor of a quarterly history magazine, serve on the Board of Governors of City Seminary [in Sacramento, California], raise money for various causes, read and write history and collect old books.
What is your biggest fear?
We should all hope to stay true to the end to our friends, our families and our convictions.
What is your biggest regret?
None, although when I was twelve I had a pretty good left-handed fastball…
What is your most treasured possession?
At a rally at the soccer stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai asked the crowd, “What do we want?” Pulling a soccer referee’s red card from his pocket, he held it aloft and to thunderous applause shouted, “Mugabe OUT!” He signed and gave me that red card as a token of thanks for some truly small assistance my colleagues and I provided.
What is your greatest accomplishment?
I’ve got a wonderful wife and family including children who can be more philosophically consistent than their father—which is another way of saying they all voted for Ron Paul and thought their Dad was a sellout.
How would you describe yourself in one word?
Blessed.
What is your favorite book?
Too many to count. Lately, I’ve handed out copies of Marilynne Robinson’s The Death of Adam.
Wayne Johnson is president of The Wayne Johnson Agency, a political affairs company, and CEO of Gateway Media, a television and radio production and placement agency, Johnson has over three decades of experience in political and public affairs. Based in California, he created and produced media for three major statewide initiative campaigns in the 2010 cycle.