SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The family of longtime Senator Tim Johnson announced he passed away Tuesday evening in Sioux Falls. He was 77.

After nearly a decade in the South Dakota State Legislature, Johnson served five terms as a United States Representative from 1987 to 1997 and then served three terms as a U.S. Senator from 1997 until 2015.

He is the last Democrat to hold statewide or congressional office in South Dakota.

The family of the Vermillion native cited complications from a recent stroke and said Johnson was surrounded by family at the time.

“As a fourth generation South Dakotan, fighting for the state he loved was the greatest privilege of his life, but he considered his family his greatest blessing. Watching his three children and eight grandchildren grow and thrive with Barbara, his wife of 55 years, at his side brought him immense pride and joy.”

“Tim always quipped that neither the left, nor the right, had a monopoly on all of the good ideas, but that working together, we can find common ground for the good of our country. In his work and life, Tim showed us never to give up. He will be missed. Our lives are fuller for having been loved and supported by him.”