Johnson narrowly won the Republican runoff election for the Court of Criminal Appeals in April 1998 over intra-party challenger Harvey Hudson, 104,773 (51 percent) to 100,818 (49 percent).
Johnson narrowly won the Republican nomination for the Court of Criminal Appeals, then for the Place 2 position, in the runoff election held on April 14,1998. She defeated intra-party challenger Harvey Hudson, 104,773 (51 percent) to 100,818 (49 percent).