Michael Francis Branch, known as Mike Branch (born 1965), served from 1996 to 2000 as the

Louisiana State Senator The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is compose ...

from District 13 (

East Baton Rouge East Baton Rouge Parish (french: Paroisse de Bâton Rouge Est) is the most populous parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 U.S. census, its population was 440,171, and 456,781 at the 2020 census. The parish seat is Baton Rouge, Lou ...

, East Feliciana, and

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

parishes). Branch unseated incumbent Democratic Senator Mike Cross, a former

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

in East Baton Rouge Parish.

Background

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

, Branch graduated from Central High School and

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

, where he procured

Bachelor of General Studies A Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) is a highly interdisciplinary undergraduate academic degree offered by colleges and universities that "allows students to combine and explore multiple subjects." The concept of general studies derives from the ...

and

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

degrees. He was a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Louisiana Army National Guard The Louisiana Army National Guard (French: Garde nationale de Louisiane) is a component of the Louisiana National Guard, and the state's reserve force within the United States Army. The United States Constitution, Constitution of the United Stat ...

. Prior to his State Senate term, Branch was a member of the

East Baton Rouge Parish School Board The East Baton Rouge Parish School System, also known as East Baton Rouge Schools (EBR Schools) or the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, is a public school district headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. The district serves m ...

. He is a commercial pilot.

Political career

In 1990, Branch was elected to the District 11 seat on the 12-member East Baton Rouge Parish School Board. He led in the primary held on October 6, 1990, 4,945 votes (42.4 percent), and went into the general election with the one-term incumbent Democrat Gordon Herbert Hutchinson, Sr. (born 1921), who received 4,091 votes (35.1 percent). In the lower-turnout second balloting on November 6, Branch defeated Hutchinson, 4,247 votes (63.4 percent) to 2,448 (36.6 percent). Branch was unopposed for a second four-year school board term in 1994, but he served less than a year thereafter because he resigned from the board to run for the State Senate. Branch was succeeded on the School Board by Jay Devall, winner of an all-Republican

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

to complete the remaining three years of the term. In 1994, Branch was among those honored by the Baton Rouge Business Report in the "Forty Under 40" category. Also cited were future

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Mary Landrieu Mary Loretta Landrieu ( ; born November 23, 1955) is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as a United States senator from Louisiana from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Landrieu served as the Louisiana State Treasure ...

and later

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Cleo Fields Cleo Fields (born November 22, 1962) is an American attorney and politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 1997 and ran unsuccessfully for governor of Louisiana in 1995. He serves as a state senator fo ...

. In the primary election for the state Senate seat, held on October 21, 1995, Branch defeated Cross, 23,002 (53.5 percent) to 20,002 (46.5 percent), an exact 3,000-vote margin. Branch did not seek reelection in the

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...

in 1999 and was succeeded by Heulette Fontenot. In the Senate, Branch served on the Commerce & Consumer Protection, Education, Judiciary B, and Retirement committees. He was the Vice Chairman of the Education Committee.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Branch, Mike 1965 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Politicians from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Republican Party Louisiana state senators School board members in Louisiana Louisiana State University alumni United States Army officers American United Methodists