GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Jay Johnson, of Wisconsin, who spent three decades as a television journalist before jumping into politics, died Saturday. He was 66.

Johnson passed away of an apparent heart attack at his home in suburban Washington, D.C., family spokeswoman Danielle Bina said Sunday.

Johnson spent 32 years as a journalist in Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan before running for Congress. The Democrat was elected to Wisconsin's 8th District in 1996, and served on the House transportation and agriculture committees. He lost after one term to Republican Mark Green.

President Bill Clinton nominated Johnson to serve as director of the U.S. Mint in 1999, a position he held from May 2000 to August 2001. The next year he started Jay Johnson Coins and Consulting, where he developed a major wholesale coin sales program for a national bank, according to a biography on his Web site.

Before entering politics, he worked as an anchor and reporter at WLUK-TV and WFRV-TV, both in Green Bay. He also worked in markets in Florida and Michigan, and spent time as a disc jockey in Texas. The Michigan native also served in the Army as an information specialist from 1966 to 1968.