When Johnson's name came before the Republican controlled General Assembly on January 4, 2005, the day after Bradley's resignation, it was the first time a governor had appointed a new lieutenant governor and consequently the legislature had no experience with such a nomination. The nomination was swiftly approved over the objections of the Democratic minority, who protested there was not sufficient opportunity to debate the question. Senator Eric Fingerhut, a Democrat from Cleveland, noted "He's a heartbeat away, a peanut away from being the governor of the state of Ohio. No, he was not elected by the people." Senate Democratic leader C. J. Prentiss of Cleveland was quoted by "The Columbus Dispatch" on January 5: "In essence, voters are being denied their franchise of public participation and are not having a voice in this process. This is the severity of what can happen with one-party rule, and we want to protect their interest by objecting to this charade of an unelected public official."