Changes

==Three legislative elections==

==Three legislative elections==

Fresh from his defeat as a school board member, Branton entered the 1959 Democratic primary for the Webster Parish seat in the Louisiana House. The incumbent, [[E.D. Gleason|Ernest Dewey Gleason]], died shortly after announcing plans to seek a third term. [[Governor]] [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]] appointed Gleason's widow, [[Mary Smith Gleason]], to fill the remaining months of the term, as insufficient time existed for a [[special election]], which would have coincided  with the regular primary schedule. Mrs. Gleason did not seek a full term, but her son, William E. "Cotton"Gleason (1919-1980), an [[educator]], entered the race. Other primary candidates included businessman Frank Burnett Treat, Jr. (1923–1994), and attorney Henry Grady Hobbs (1923-2012), both of Minden.<ref <ref name="Minden Press, January 4, 1960>'''Minden Press,'' January 4, 1960.</ref>

Fresh from his defeat as a school board member, Branton entered the 1959 Democratic primary for the Webster Parish seat in the Louisiana House. The incumbent, [[E. D. Gleason|Ernest Dewey Gleason]], died shortly after announcing plans to seek a third term. [[Governor]] [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]] appointed Gleason's widow, [[Mary Smith Gleason]], to fill the remaining months of the term, as insufficient time existed for a [[special election]], which would have coincided  with the regular primary schedule. Mrs. Gleason did not seek a full term, but her son, William E. "Cotton"Gleason (1919-1980), an [[educator]], entered the race. Other primary candidates included businessman Frank Burnett Treat, Jr. (1923–1994), and attorney Henry Grady Hobbs (1923-2012), both of Minden.<ref <ref name="Minden Press, January 4, 1960>'''Minden Press,'' January 4, 1960.</ref>

Branton trailed Hobbs by 130 votes in the December primary, but in the runoff election held on January 9, 1960, he defeated Hobbs by 16 votes, 4,300 (50.01 percent) to 4,284 (49.99 percent). A Branton campaign advertisement proclaimed "Remove All Doubt. There Will Be No Question if You Elect an Avowed Segregationist," a claim that Hobbs would not pursue the same segregationist policies in the legislature as would Branton.<ref> Hobbs, a native of Sarepta in central Webster Parish, was an [[attorney]] for sixty years, eighteen as the Minden city attorney. He was active on the Webster Parish Library Board, having overseen as the board president the construction of the current library in Minden during the middle 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=henry-hobbs&pid=162069317#fbLoggedOut|title=Henry Hobbs obituary|publisher''The =Shreveport Times''|date=January 2, 2013|accessdate=September 2, 2013}}</ref>

Branton trailed Hobbs by 130 votes in the December primary, but in the runoff election held on January 9, 1960, he defeated Hobbs by 16 votes, 4,300 (50.01 percent) to 4,284 (49.99 percent). A Branton campaign advertisement proclaimed "Remove All Doubt. There Will Be No Question if You Elect an Avowed Segregationist," a claim that Hobbs would not pursue the same segregationist policies in the legislature as would Branton.<ref> Hobbs, a native of Sarepta in central Webster Parish, was an [[attorney]] for sixty years, eighteen as the Minden city attorney. He was active on the Webster Parish Library Board, having overseen as the board president the construction of the current library in Minden during the middle 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=henry-hobbs&pid=162069317#fbLoggedOut|title=Henry Hobbs obituary|publisher''The Shreveport Times''|date=January 2, 2013|accessdate=September 2, 2013}}</ref>

In 1962, Branton joined his House colleague, Representative Wellborn Jack (1907-1991) of [[Shreveport]], in supporting a change in the system of how Louisiana allocates its [[electoral votes]]. The two argued that Louisiana should adopt the framework used currently only by [[Maine]] and [[Nebraska]] by which one elector is allotted for each congressional district to the winner by plurality in that district, and two at-large electoral votes are assigned to the top vote-getter statewide, plurality or majority. The plan was not adopted. It could have enabled Louisiana to choose split electors, as [[Alabama]] did in 1960. Branton said the plan would dilute the voting power of minority groups in large eastern and Midwestern cities.<ref>"Branton Predicts Finances, Integration Will Top Legislative Session," ''Minden Press,'' May 14, 1962, p. 1.</ref><ref>"Rep. Branton Has the Answe," ''Minden Herald'' (editorial), February 1, 1962, p. 2.</ref>

In 1962, Branton joined his House colleague, Representative Wellborn Jack (1907-1991) of [[Shreveport]], in supporting a change in the system of how Louisiana allocates its [[electoral votes]]. The two argued that Louisiana should adopt the framework used currently only by [[Maine]] and [[Nebraska]] by which one elector is allotted for each congressional district to the winner by plurality in that district, and two at-large electoral votes are assigned to the top vote-getter statewide, plurality or majority. The plan was not adopted. It could have enabled Louisiana to choose split electors, as [[Alabama]] did in 1960. Branton said the plan would dilute the voting power of minority groups in large eastern and Midwestern cities.<ref>"Branton Predicts Finances, Integration Will Top Legislative Session," ''Minden Press,'' May 14, 1962, p. 1.</ref><ref>"Rep. Branton Has the Answe," ''Minden Herald'' (editorial), February 1, 1962, p. 2.</ref>