Roger D. Branigin

Roger Douglas Branigin ( born July 26, 1902 in Franklin, Indiana; † 19 November 1975) was an American politician and from 1965 to 1969 the 42nd Governor of the state of Indiana.

Early years

Roger Branigin attended Franklin College and then studied at Harvard Law School law. Following an old family tradition he became a lawyer and joined Lafayette in 1938 with a law firm. During the Second World War, he brought it to the U.S. Army to Lieutenant Colonel.

Branigin was a member of the Democratic Party. Between 1926 and 1929 he served as deputy prosecutor in Johnson County. From 1930 to 1938 he was an advisor to the Federal Land Bank in Louisville (Kentucky ); 1948-1950 he was a member of the Environment Committee of Indiana (State Conservation Commission ). In addition Branigin was still President of the Chamber of Commerce in Lafayette and curator of the historical association of Tippecanoe County. In 1956, Branigin applied unsuccessfully for his party's nomination for the election for governor of Indiana. In 1964 he succeeded but then the jump in this office, where he prevailed with 56.2 percent of the vote against Republican Richard O. Ristine.

Governor of Indiana

Branigin took up his new post on January 11, 1965. During his tenure, the electoral Tax Act ( Poll Tax ) has been canceled. Through this and similar laws in different states of the U.S. the right to vote was tied to a certain level of revenue. Thus poorer citizens were excluded from elections. In the southern states therefore most African-Americans were excluded for decades from the elections because they could not meet the financial requirements to comply with this legislation. In the second half of the 20th century, these laws were gradually abolished, including in Indiana under Governor Branigin. The property tax on household goods was abolished by Branigin. He also fought against the then widespread corruption in the state administration and had some success with it.

During the presidential campaign in 1968 Branigin in Indiana took the role of a " Favorite Son ". Thus politicians were called who applied only in their home country to victory in the Primary to transfer after the nominating convention acquired electoral votes to another candidate. In this case Branigin was asked by President Lyndon B. Johnson to take his place in Indiana, as he so hoped for a higher share of the vote than in their own candidacy. When Johnson then surprisingly withdrew from the election campaign and his resignation declared Branigin gave his votes from the code in Indiana the incumbent Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey. After all, he had the second place behind Robert F. Kennedy occupied the area code with 31 % of the vote, which came to 42%.

After the end of his term Branigin was working as a lawyer again. He was curator of the Franklin College and was a member of the Indiana Historical Society. Roger Branigin died in November 1975. He was married to Josephine Mardis, with whom he had two children.