Roger D. Branigin

Roger Douglas Branigin (July 26, 1902 – November 19, 1975) was an American politician who was the 42nd governor of Indiana, serving from January 11, 1965, to January 13, 1969. A World War II veteran and well-known public speaker, Branigin took office with a Democratic general assembly, the first time since the Great Depression that Democrats controlled both the executive and legislative branches of the Indiana state government. Branigin was a conservative Democrat 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. 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 took office in 1989.

In 1968 Branigin received national attention when he ran as a stand-in for Lyndon B. Johnson 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 candidate against Robert F. Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy. Branigin hoped his efforts would gain a stronger role for Indiana at the 1968 Democratic convention 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. Branigin also served as a trustee for Franklin College, Purdue University, and the Indiana Historical Society.

Early life

Branigin was born on July 26, 1902, in Franklin, Indiana. Branigin's father was a lawyer, teacher, and amateur historian.

In 1930 Branigin took a job as attorney for the Federal Land Bank and the Farm Credit Administration in Louisville, Kentucky. 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. Branigin became a partner in the Stuart, Branigin, Ricks, and Schilling law firm. At the outbreak of World War II, Branigin joined the U.S. Army and was assigned to the contract division of the Judge Advocate General's Office in Washington, D. C., where he became head of the legal division of the army's transportation corps with the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the war, Branigin returned to his Lafayette law practice. Democrats also took control of the Indiana General Assembly for the first time since 1938. 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, 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 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 is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in his hometown of Franklin, Indiana. During the 1990s, the Branigin Bridge, a state highway bridge in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, was named in his honor.