Johnson, of Holly, a former public school teacher and small business owner, clerk and register of deeds of Oakland County, a suburban area immediately north of Detroit with a population of more than one million, prior to her election as secretary of state in November 2010. She was elected clerk of Oakland County in 2004, upsetting incumbent G. William Caddell in the Republican Primaryand defeated Democratic nominee Jason Ellenburg in the general election. She became the first woman clerk in Oakland County's 176-year history.