Dan Branch

Branch won the seat in 2002, when the incumbent Republican Kenn George stepped down after two terms to run unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for Texas land commissioner, losing to Jerry E. Patterson, then a state senator from Houston. The 2002 race was Branch's first for state office. He won every election thereafter until 2014, when he ran for attorney general.[http://www.texastribune.org/directory/dan-branch/ Texas Tribune Elected Officials Directory], "Elections Info" section. Retrieved 2014-02-07.

Branch served as chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education from 2009 to 2014 and served on the Calendars, Elections and Redistricting Committees, as well as the House Select Committee on State Sovereignty. Branch also served on the Legislative Budget Board. Prior to the 81st Session, he served three terms as the Chair of Budget and Oversight on the House Public Education Committee and served as Vice Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}}

In 2009, Branch was selected by Texas House members from eleven north Texas counties to co-chair the Dallas Area Legislative Delegation (DALD), at the delegation's first meeting of the 81st session. Branch replaced retired member Fred Hill (R-Richardson) as the Republican co-chair.[http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2011/07/20/rep_dan_branch_for_lieutenant.html "Rep. Dan Branch for lieutenant governor in 2014?"] Retrieved on 2011-10-25. He was re-elected in 2011 to serve as co-chair.{{cite web |url=http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/01/dan-branch-and-yvonne-davis-to.html" |title=Dan Branch and Yvonne Davis to lead local delegation |last=Jeffers Jr. |first=Gromer |access-date=2011-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131191812/http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/01/dan-branch-and-yvonne-davis-to.html|archive-date=31 January 2011}}

During the 81st legislative session, Branch was the author of House Bill 51, also known as the "Tier One Universities" Bill. The bill announced that seven so-called emerging research universities would compete for extra funding in hopes of joining the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University as nationally recognized research institutions. These seven schools include the University of North Texas, the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Houston and Texas Tech University. After signing HB 51 into law, Governor Rick Perry said "[House Bill 51] will go down in the history books as one that truly is improving education in our state."[http://danbranch.com/media/DallasMorningNews/dmn_20090618.htm"Tier One university bill is signed, uniting old foes]{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Retrieved on 2010-5-6.

On July 14, 2013, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced his intention to run for Governor of Texas in the 2014 Texas gubernatorial election. On July 25, 2013, Dan Branch officially announced his candidacy[http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/07/rep-dan-branch-announces-bid-for-texas-attorney-general.html/ Rep. Dan Branch announces bid for Texas attorney general] for Texas Attorney General in the [http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Texas_attorney_general_election,_2014 2014 election.]

Shortly following the launch of his campaign, Branch received the endorsement of six of Attorney General Greg Abbott's top lieutenants,[http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/branch-endorsed-by-half-dozen-former-abbott-aides.html/ Branch endorsed by half dozen former Abbott aides] including former Solicitor General James C. Ho.{{Cite web |url=http://www.gibsondunn.com/lawyers/jho/ |title=Jim Ho. |access-date=2013-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109032853/http://www.gibsondunn.com/lawyers/jho |archive-date=2013-11-09 |url-status=dead }} Former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillips and former Texas Supreme Court Justices Craig T. Enoch, Harriet O'Neill and former United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales endorsed Branch for attorney general.

A majority of the House Republican Caucus endorsed Branch in his bid for state Attorney General.[http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/texas-rep-dan-branch-list-support-from-53-house-republicans-in-bid-for-ag.html/ Texas Rep. Dan Branch announces support from 53 House Republicans in bid for AG] Shortly after his announcement of candidacy for attorney general, Branch reported more than $4 million on hand,[http://www.texastribune.org/2013/07/16/statewide-candidates-report-/ Fundraising Reports Offer Chance to Stand Out in Crowded Field] a considerably larger amount than that of his two opponents.

In the primary, Branch finished second place with 35%, compared to 45% for Ken Paxton. In the contentious runoff, Paxton defeated Branch by a 65% to 35% margin.{{cite web | url=https://ballotpedia.org/Dan_Branch | title=Dan Branch }}

File:Dan Branch, Munger Place Historic District, Dallas 2008.jpeg of Old East Dallas.]]

In the fall of 2008, Branch joined Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa in leading "Operation Comeback", a statewide effort to stop 50,000 students a year from dropping out of high school.[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=1231108851189640&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "DISD Taking anti-dropout effort into ex-students' homes City and school officials visit youths as part of statewide drive"] Retrieved on 2009-5-8.

He sits on the board of the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies at SMU.[http://www.smu.edu/TowerCenter/About/Boards John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies Board of Directors] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231233457/http://www.smu.edu/TowerCenter/About/Boards |date=2012-12-31 }}

Branch and his wife, Stacey, have five children: Daniel, Spencer, Catherine, Charles, and Sarah. They have lived and worked in Dallas for almost three decades.[http://www.danbranch.com "http://danbranch.com/branch_family.html"] Retrieved on 2009-5-7.

{{Portal bar|Biography|Texas|Law|Politics}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite web|url=http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist108/bio/branch.htm|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20070216222532/http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist108/bio/branch.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 16, 2007|title= Representative Dan Branch|publisher=Texas State Directory}}
• {{cite web|url=http://danbranch.com/|title=Dan Branch|publisher=Official Campaign Website}}

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before=Kenn George |

title=Texas State Representative
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Category:1958 births

Category:Living people

Category:Politicians from San Antonio

Category:Politicians from Dallas

Category:Douglas MacArthur High School (San Antonio) alumni

Category:Dedman School of Law alumni

Category:Georgetown University alumni

Category:Texas lawyers

Category:Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives

Category:Affirmative action in the United States

Category:21st-century members of the Texas Legislature