Roger Douglas Branigin (July 26, 1902 – November 19, 1975) was an American politician who was the 42nd governor of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, serving from January 11, 1965, to January 13, 1969. A

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran and well-known public speaker, Branigin took office with a Democratic general assembly, the first time since the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

that Democrats controlled both the executive and legislative branches of the Indiana state government. Branigin was a

conservative Democrat In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party with conservative political views, or with views that are conservative compared to the positions taken by other members of the Democratic Party. Traditionally, co ...

who oversaw repeal of the state's personal property taxes on household goods, increased access to higher education, and began construction of Indiana's deep-water port at Burns Harbor on

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. During his one term as governor, Branigin exercised his veto power one hundred times, a record number for a single term. Branigin was the last Democrat to serve as governor of Indiana until

Evan Bayh Birch Evans Bayh III ( ; born December 26, 1955) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011 and the 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997. Bayh w ...

took office in 1989. In 1968 Branigin received national attention when he ran as a stand-in for

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

in Indiana's Democratic presidential primary. Johnson dropped out of the race on March 31, 1968, but Branigin continued to run as a

favorite son Favorite son (or favorite daughter) is a political term. * At the quadrennial American national political party conventions, a state delegation sometimes nominates a candidate from the state, or less often from the state's region, who is not a ...

candidate against

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...

and

Eugene McCarthy Eugene Joseph McCarthy (March 29, 1916December 10, 2005) was an American politician, writer, and academic from Minnesota. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971. ...

. Branigin hoped his efforts would gain a stronger role for Indiana at the

1968 Democratic convention The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making ...

in Chicago. Branigin finished second in the primary to Kennedy. After his term as governor ended, Branigin returned to Lafayette, where he resumed a private law practice and remained active in civic life, serving as president of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and the Harrison Trails Council of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

. Branigin also served as a trustee for Franklin College,

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, and the

Indiana Historical Society The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies and describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street ...

Early life

Branigin was born on July 26, 1902, in

Franklin, Indiana Franklin is a city in Johnson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 23,712 at the 2010 census. Located about south of Indianapolis, the city is the county seat of Johnson County. The site of Franklin College, the city attracts n ...

.Gugin and St. Clair, p. 347. Branigin's father was a lawyer, teacher, and amateur historian. Branigin attended local public schools, graduating from high school in 1919, and went to nearby Franklin College, where he majored in Spanish, French, and history. Branigin was involved in the school's drama club as well. After graduating from Franklin in 1923, he enrolled at

Harvard University Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, where he earned a law degree in 1926. Branigin returned to Indiana and took a job with the Johnson County prosecutor's office, and remained there for three years. On November 2, 1929, Branigin married fellow Franklin College graduate Josephine Mardis. The couple had two sons, Roger Jr. and Robert.Gugin and St. Clair, p. 348. In 1930 Branigin took a job as attorney for the Federal Land Bank and the Farm Credit Administration in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. He was soon promoted to general counsel for the bank and traveled a five-state region giving speeches. He retired from the bank in 1938 to join a law firm in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

. Branigin became a partner in the Stuart, Branigin, Ricks, and Schilling law firm. At the outbreak of

, Branigin joined the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and was assigned to the contract division of the Judge Advocate General's Office in

Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, where he became head of the legal division of the army's transportation corps with the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. After the war, Branigin returned to his Lafayette law practice.

Political life

A longtime Democrat, Branigin was active in local and state politics. In 1948 he chaired the Democratic state convention. After Democratic gubernatorial candidate

Henry F. Schricker Henry Frederick Schricker (August 30, 1883 – December 28, 1966) was an American politician who served as the 36th and 38th Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1941 to 1945 and from 1949 to 1953. He is the only Indiana governor elected ...

won the election that year, he appointed Branigin as chairman of the state conservation commission. Branigin also served as president of the Indiana Bar Association. In 1956 Branigin entered the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, but he was defeated by Ralph Tucker.

Indiana governor

At the Democratic state convention in June 1964, Branigin won the gubernatorial nomination on the first ballot. Branigin's Republican opponent, incumbent Lieutenant Governor Richard O. Ristine, had cast a tie-breaking vote in the

Indiana Senate The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...

allowing a state sales tax, which was an unpopular decision among voters. During the campaign, Branigin attacked Ristine on his tax-raising record. In addition, Branigin earned an endorsement from the traditionally Republican ''

Indianapolis Star Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

'' and several other state newspapers, helping him win the election by the largest margin in state history at the time. His campaign song was an adaptation of the blues song ''

Walk Right In "Walk Right In" is a country blues song written by musician Gus Cannon and originally recorded by Cannon's Jug Stompers in 1929. Victor Records released on a 78 rpm record and in 1959, it was included on the influential compilation album ''The Cou ...

''. Democrats also took control of the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. ...

for the first time since 1938. Once in office, Branigin proved to be more conservative than the leadership in the general assembly. He vetoed a record one hundred bills, including an abortion legalization bill, a ban on the death penalty, and union protection laws. Despite his disagreement with the general assembly on a host of issues, Branigin had a number of his agenda items passed into law. He successfully advocated for state-funded scholarships for higher education, increased the state's civil rights commission's powers, upgraded the state prison system, expanded the state highway system, abolished the

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...

, and created a number of new public parks and nature preserves. During Branigin's term as governor, he also oversaw the repeal of the personal property tax and began work on the

Port of Indiana The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor is an industrial area, founded in 1965 and located on the Lake Michigan shore of Indiana at the intersection of U.S. Route 12 and Indiana State Road 249. The primary work done in the area is the manufacturing of ...

, the state's first deep-water harbor on Lake Michigan.

Presidential candidate

In early March 1968, President Lyndon Johnson asked Branigin to run as his stand-in during the Indiana Democratic presidential primary. Branigin agreed and campaigned earnestly as a Hoosier candidate representing Hoosiers. When Johnson announced he would drop out of the race on March 31, Branigin decided to continue his campaign, hoping to control the state's votes at the Democratic convention in Chicago later that summer. Despite a hard-fought campaign and early leads in the polls, Branigin lost the Indiana primary to Robert Kennedy. Branigin earned 238,700 votes compared to Kennedy's 328,118, but he came in ahead of third-place finisher Eugene McCarthy.

Later life

After leaving politics Branigin once again returned to his Lafayette law practice. In later years he served as president of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, the Harrison Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and a board member of Franklin College and Purdue University. During his lifetime Branigin amassed a large collection of books, which he later donated to the Franklin College library. Branigin also served as a member of the Indiana Historical Society board of trustees from 1965 to his death. Branigin died in Lafayette on November 19, 1975, and was buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in his hometown of Franklin, Indiana. During the 1990s, the Branigin Bridge, a state highway bridge in

Tippecanoe County, Indiana Tippecanoe County is located in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Indiana about 22 miles east of the Illinois state line and less than 50 miles from the Chicago and the Indianapolis metro areas. As of the 2010 census, the population ...

, was named in his honor.">Indiana General Assembly. "House Concurrent Resolution 0018."
/ref>

Notes

References

WorldCat

WorldCat

WorldCat
*Indiana General Assembly

Retrieved February 17, 2012.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Branigin, Roger D. 1902 births 1975 deaths Candidates in the 1968 United States presidential election Democratic Party governors of Indiana Indiana Historical Society Franklin College (Indiana) alumni Harvard Law School alumni People from Franklin, Indiana 20th-century American politicians United States Army officers