Roger D. Branigin
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| Roger D. Branigin | |
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42nd Governor of Indiana
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| In office December 5, 1849 – January 12, 1857 |
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| Preceded by | Matthew E. Welsh |
| Succeeded by | Edgar Whitcomb |
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| Born | July 26, 1902 Franklin, Indiana |
| Died | November 19, 1975 |
| Spouse | Josephine Mardis |
| Religion | American Baptist |
Roger Douglas Branigin (July 26, 1902–November 19, 1975) was a Democratic governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from January 11, 1965 to January 13, 1969.
[edit] Biography
Born in 1902 in Franklin, Indiana, he graduated from Franklin College and Harvard University and had a law practice in Lafayette, Indiana. During his term as governor, the poll tax was lifted and the property tax on household goods was removed. His administration was also credited with weeding out a great deal of corruption in state government, and Branigin gained a national reputation for honesty and civic responsibility.
In the 1968 Presidential Election, Branigin ran as a favorite son candidate for president in the Indiana Democratic presidential primary, standing in for Lyndon B. Johnson, who had opted to avoid directly running against the insurgent candidate, Senator Eugene McCarthy (and, later, Senator Robert F. Kennedy). Widely popular across the state and controlling a large patronage army of state workers, Branigin was expected to win the primary by a large margin, and could then be counted on to pledge his delegate votes to Johnson at the Democratic convention in Chicago. After Johnson withdrew in the middle of the primary campaign, Branigin (who had been one of the few people outside of his inner circle whom Johnson had informed in advance that he would be dropping out of the race) remained in the primary and ran as an uncommitted favorite son for Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey, who entered the campaign too late to meet the filing date to enter the Indiana primary; he eventually came in second in the spirited three-way race in the Indiana primary (Kennedy drew 42 percent to Branigin's 31 percent and McCarthy's 27 percent).
Branigin died on November 19, 1975. The Branigin Bridge is named in his honor.[1]
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| Preceded by Matthew E. Welsh |
Governor of Indiana January 11, 1965 – January 13, 1969 |
Succeeded by Edgar Whitcomb |
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