Michael Francis "Mike" Branch
Louisiana State Senator from District 13 (East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, and Livingston parishes)
In office 1996 – 2000
Preceded by	Michael "Mike" Cross
Succeeded by	Heulette Fontenot[1]
Member of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board (District 11)
In office 1989 – 1995
Preceded by	Gordon Herbert Hutchinson, Sr.
Succeeded by	Jay Devall
Born	February 1, 1968 (1968-02-01) (age 41)
Political party	Republican
Residence	Las Vegas Clark County, Nevada, USA
Alma mater	Central High School in Baton Rouge Louisiana State University
Occupation	Commercial pilot, Flight instructor
Religion	Methodist
Branch held public office in Louisiana between the ages of twenty-two and thirty-one but subsequently left the state after his term in the state Senate ended in 2000.

Michael Franklin Branch, known as Mike Branch (born February 1, 1968), is a commercial pilot and flight instructor in Las Vegas, Nevada,^[2] who served from 1996 to 2000 as the Louisiana state senator from District 13 (East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, and Livingston parishes). A Republican, he lived in Denham Springs in Livingston Parish, Louisiana. At the age of twenty-seven, Branch unseated incumbent Democratic Senator Mike Cross, a former mayor of Baker in East Baton Rouge Parish.

Branch is the son of Irvin Eugene Branch (born July 3, 1937) and Mollie R. Branch (born ca. 1938) of Greenwell Springs, a community in East Baton Rouge Parish. They were formerly of East Rutherford, New Jersey, and later moved to Livingston Parish. Mike Branch has a sister, Kari Celeste Branch Schlotterer (born ca. 1970).^[3] An Eagle Scout, Branch graduated from Central High School^[4] and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where he procured Bachelor of General Studies and Master of Public Administration degrees. He was a second lieutenant in the Louisiana Army National Guard. Prior to his state Senate term, Branch was a member of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board. He is a Methodist.^[5]

At the age of twenty-two, 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).^[6] In the lower-turnout second balloting on November 6, Branch defeated Hutchinson, 4,247 votes (63.4 percent) to 2,448 (36.6 percent).^[7] Gordon Hutchinson, Jr., recalls that Branch defeated his father by criticizing federally-mandated school busing orders which were beyond the purview of the parish school board.^[8] 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 state senator.^[9] Branch was succeeded on the school board by Jay Devall, winner of an all-Republican special election to complete the remaining three years of the term.^[10]

In 1994, Branch was among those honored by the Baton Rouge Business Report in the "Under 40" category. Also cited were future U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu and later U.S. Representative Cleo Fields.^[11]

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. His victory is attributed to a 4,000-vote plurality in East Baton Rouge, though he trailed in East Feliciana and Livingston parishes.^[10]Cross’ defeat is believed to have been a result of his long-time support for the political goals of organized labor, including opposition to right-to-work legislation.^[12] Branch did not seek reelection in the nonpartisan blanket primary in 1999 and was succeeded by Heulette Fontenot,^[13] an oil company executive active in the Christian Coalition and allied with State Representative Tony Perkins. In the Senate, Branch served on the Commerce & Consumer Protection, Education, Judiciary B, and Retirement committees. He was the vice chairman of the education panel.^[14]

Prior to his settling in Las Vegas, Branch had several addresses after leaving the Senate in 2000, including Gretna, Terrytown, and New Orleans, Enid, Oklahoma, and Port Hueneme in Ventura County, California^[3]

[edit] References