Dan Branch

Dan Branch
Texas State House, District 108
Incumbent
In office
2003 - Present
Term ends
January 13, 2015
Years in position	10
Party	Republican
Compensation
Base salary	$7,200/year
Per diem	$150/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	2002
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	N/A
Websites
Office website

Daniel H. Branch (born March 5, 1958) is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives. He has represented the state's 108th State House District since first winning election to the seat in November 2002.

Branch has made state legislative voting transparency a signature issue. The Dallas Morning News commended him for this, writing, "It's a good day when a bright, upwardly mobile state legislator like Dan Branch goes on record in support of recorded votes. We salute Mr. Branch."

Texas Monthly in its "Best and Worst Legislators of 2009" edition said that Branch is one of the state's best legislators because he has put "Texas on the path to developing more top-tier universities."

The 108th district encompasses Dallas (uptown, downtown, and east side) in addition to the Town of Highland Park and the City of University Park.

Biography

Education

• Bachelor's degree, Oklahoma Christian University (1980)
• Juris Doctorate degree, Southern Methodist University School of Law (1983)

Professional experience

Upon receiving his law school degree, Branch was brought to Washington D.C. where he worked as an aide to then-United States Senator John Tower. He then went on to serve on the Texas Supreme Court as a judicial clerk for Chief Justice Jack Pope, a position he maintained for three years beginning in 1982. For over two decades, Branch has practiced law at a number of private firms across the state of Texas. In 1984, he joined the prestigious global law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP where he remained for the next two years. From 1987 until 1991, Branch served as an attorney at law for Baker Botts L.L.P., a major United States-based international law firm with a history of close political connections. He chose to strike out on his own, working as a partner of Langley and Branch for eight years before aligning himself with Winstead, Sechrest, and Minick, one of the largest business firms in the state whose attorneys and consultants serve as trusted advisors to mid-market and large businesses throughout the country, as both an attorney as well as a shareholder.

Political career

Branch launched himself onto the local political stage when he campaigned in 1991 for United States House of Representatives seat in the third congressional district. Despite winning the party nomination, he ultimately lost the general election contest. Although he served as co-chair of the Dallas County George W. Bush for Governor committee in both 1994 and 1998, Branch would not take a far more active role in local politics for another eight years. It was in 1999 that he was named as chairman of the Texas Public Finance Authority, a state political organization created in 1984 by the Texas Legislature to provide financing for the construction and/or acquisition of facilities created for the use of state agencies; he remained in this role for two years. When George W. Bush ran for President of the United States in 2000, Branch acted first as member of the Texas delegation at the Republican National Convention and then later as a member of the Bush-Cheney Florida Legal Team during the hotly contested recount effort in December 2000.

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Branch served on the following committees:

Texas Committee Assignments, 2013
• Calendars
• Higher Education, Chair
• Pensions

Elections

2012

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2012

Branch won re-election in the 2012 election for Texas House of Representatives, District 108. Branch ran unopposed in the May 29 primary election and defeated Jarrett Rab Woods (L) in the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.

Texas House of Representatives, District 108, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dan Branch Incumbent	79.7%	43,675
	Libertarian	Jarrett Rab Woods	20.3%	11,133
Total Votes				54,808

2010

See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2010

Branch won re-election in District 108. He was unopposed in the March 2 Republican primary and defeated Democrat Pete Schulte and Libertarian Jarrett Woods in the November 2 general election.

Texas House of Representatives, District 108 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Dan Branch (R)		21,420	64.91%
Pete Schulte (D)		10,793	32.71%
Jarrett Woods (L)		783	2.37%

2008

On November 4, 2008, Branch won re-election to the Texas House of Representatives from the 108th District, receiving 33,442 votes ahead of Libertarian Emil Reichstadt (21,737). He raised $1,546,864 for his campaign; Reichstadt raised $60,715.

Texas House of Representatives, District 108
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Dan Branch (R)		33,442	60.60%
Emil Reichstadt (D)		21,737	39.39%

2006

On November 4, 2006 Branch won re-election to the Texas House of Representatives from Texas's 108th District, defeating Jack Borden (D) and T. Evan Fisher (L).

Branch raised $639,610 for his campaign while Borden raised $1,600 and Fisher raised $1,245.

Texas House of Representatives, District 108 (2006)
Candidates		Votes
Dan Branch (R)		17,244
Jack Borden (D)		12,447
T. Evan Fisher (L)		1,106

2004

On November 4, 2004 Branch won re-election to the Texas House of Representatives from Texas's 108th District, defeating Malcome Dade (D).

Branch raised $527,402 for his campaign while Dade raised $6,712.

Texas House of Representatives, District 108 (2004)
Candidates		Votes
Dan Branch (R)		31,684
Malcom Dade (D)		19,010

2002

On November 4, 2002 Branch won election to the Texas House of Representatives from Texas's 108th District, defeating Malcom Dade (R).

Branch raised $421,614 for his campaign while Malcom raised $4,323.

Texas House of Representatives, District 108 (2002)
Candidates		Votes
Dan Branch (R)		21,514
Malcom Dade (D)		10,862

Committee assignments

2011-2012

Dan Branch served on the following Texas House of Representatives committees:

• Calendars Committee
• Elections Committee
• Higher Education Committee Chair
• Redistricting Committee
• State Sovereignty, Select Committee

Legislation

Authored

• HB 51 - Relating to measures to enhance and maintain the quality of state universities, including funding and incentives to support emerging public research universities, to the abolition of the higher education fund, to the institutional groupings under the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's accountability system, to the independent status of Lamar Institute of Technology, to research conducted by public universities and other state entities, and to the authorization of revenue bonds for certain institutions of higher education.
• HB 55 - Relating to an offense of using a wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle.
• HB 1768 - Relating to the elimination of straight-party voting. (Left pending in committee)
• HB 4292 - Relating to access to criminal history record information by the office of the attorney general. (Reported favorably w/o amendment(s))
• HB 4293 - Relating to notice to the attorney general of an action, suit, or proceeding challenging the validity of a Texas statute or rule. (Referred to State Affairs)
• HJR 16 - Proposing a constitutional amendment requiring any increase in a franchise tax rate to be approved by three-fourths of all the members elected to each house of the legislature. (Left pending in committee)
• HJR 139 - Proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the national research university fund to enable emerging research universities in this state to achieve national prominence as major research universities and transferring the balance of the higher education fund to the national research university fund. (Referred to Higher Education)

Joint Authored

• HB 4031 - Relating to the agricultural biomass and landfill diversion incentive program.
• HB 4149 - Relating to certain studies and reports by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board regarding achievable cost-saving measures and the use and availability of electronic textbooks at institutions of higher education.
• HB 4386 - Relating to the creation of DNA records for the DNA database system. (Laid on the table subject to call)

Sponsored

• SB 174 - Relating to accountability of institutions of higher education, including educator preparation programs, and online institution resumes for public institutions of higher education.
• SB 175 - Relating to the automatic admission of undergraduate students to certain general academic teaching institutions and to scholarship and other programs to facilitate enrollment at institutions of higher education.
• SB 1081 - Relating to access to criminal history record information by the office of the attorney general.
• SB 2244 - Relating to the eligibility of employees of certain businesses or organizations established as part of the state's economic development program and of dependents of those employees to pay resident tuition at public institutions of higher education.
• SB 2262 - Relating to the administration of mathematics, science, and technology teacher preparation academies at institutions of higher education.

Issue positions

Branch's answers to the Texas State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test are available. The test provides voters with how a candidate would vote on the issues if elected. He did not provide an answer when asked his legislative priorities.

Other roles

• Secretary, The Fund for American Studies (1993-present)
• Board Member, The John G. Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University (1997-present)
• Trustee, Southwestern Medical Foundation (1999-present)
• Board Member, Dallas Real Estate Council (2000-present)
• Member, Southeastern Medical Foundation (2000-present)
• President, The Dallas Assembly (2000-2001)
• Board Member, John Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University (2003-present)
• Board Chair, John Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University (2007- present)
• Chairman, John Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University (2007-present)
• Board Member, Texas Education Reform Foundation (2008- present)
• Member, Boy Scouts of America Circle Ten Council
• Member, Council on Foreign Relations

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

Branch raised a total of $1,378,573 in 2010. Below are Branch's top 5 campaign contributors in the 2010 election:

Contributor	2010 total
Perot Sr., Ross	$55,000
Crow, Trammell	$50,000
Crow, Harlan R.	$50,000
Knox, Jack	$40,000
Perry, Bob J.	$30,000

2008

In the 2008 election, Branch raised a total of $1,546,864.

His five largest contributors in 2008 were:

Donor	Amount
Dan Branch CMTE	$446,002
Perry, Bob J	$50,000
Crow, Harlan R	$38,985
Crow, Katherine	$27,500
Crow, Trammell S	$25,000

2006

In the 2006 election, Branch raised a total of $639,610.

His five largest contributors in 2006 were:

Donor	Amount
Time Warner	$51,500
Crow, Trammell S	$29,000
Crow, Harlan R	$13,000
Jackson, Mark A	$11,000
4 Donors, Each Donating $10,000	$10,000

2004

In the 2004 election, Branch raised a total of $527,402.

His four largest contributors in 2004 were:

Donor	Amount
Crow, Trammell S	$17,500
Crow, Harlan R	$12,000
4 Donors, Each Donating $10,000	$10,000
Wyly Jr, Charles J	$9,000

2002

In the 2002 election, Branch raised a total of $421,614.

His five largest contributors in 2002 were:

Donor	Amount
Salvino, Victor E	$11,793
Crow, Margaret	$9,445
Trammell Crow CO	$7,500
Crow, Kathy	$6,250
Crow, Kathy	$6,250

Scorecards

Empower Texans Fiscal Responsibility Index

Empower Texans produces the Fiscal Responsibility Index as "a measurement of how lawmakers perform on size and role of government issues." The index uses "exemplar votes on core budget and free enterprise issues that demonstrate legislators' governing philosophy." Legislators are graded along a standard grading scale, receiving grades A through F based on their performance during the legislative session.

2011

Dan Branch received a grade of C+ on the 2011 Fiscal Responsibility Index.

Personal

Branch currently resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife, Stacey. The couple has had five children together - Daniel Jr., Spencer, Catherine, Charles, and Sarah.

Contact information

Capitol Address:
Post Office Box 2910
Austin , TX 78768

Phone: (512) 463-0367
E-mail: info@danbranch.com

District Address:
2100 McKinney Avenue, Suite 1501A
Dallas, TX 75201

Phone: (214) 745-5768

Campaign Address:
Texans for Dan Branch
3953 Maple Avenue
Dallas, TX 75219

Phone: (214) 745-5825
E-mail: info@danbranch.com

External links

Suggest a link

• Texas House of Representatives - Rep. Dan Branch (R-108) profile
• Texans for Dan Branch Campaign website
• Dan Branch's Facebook profile
• Dan Branch's Twitter account
• Texas Political Almanac HD 108 page
• State Surge profile
• Texas Conservative Coalition profile
• Vote-TX.org profile
• Texas Tribune - Rep. Dan Branch (R-Dallas) profile
• Official Campaign Contributions-Personal
• Official Campaign Contributions-Committee
• State House Campaign contributions: 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008,

2010

• Project Vote Smart - Dan Branch biography

References

Political offices
Preceded by Kenn George	Texas House - District 108 2003–present	Succeeded by NA