Changes

Just days after being named school board vice president, Branton sought the position of Webster Parish clerk of court. In the Democratic [[primary]] the 24-year [[incumbent]] Thomas J. Campbell (1895–1968), member of a prominent Webster Parish political family. Branton finished third with 2,327 votes, 92 fewer than the second-place candidate, [[Clarence D. Wiley]] of Minden. The fourth-place candidate, Minden alderman [[Frank T. Norman]], would be elected mayor some two years later in 1958.<ref>''Minden Herald,'' January 19, 1956, p. 1.</ref> Wiley went on to unseat Campbell in the runoff election and served for twenty years as clerk of court.

Just days after being named school board vice president, Branton sought the position of Webster Parish clerk of court. In the Democratic [[primary]] the 24-year [[incumbent]] Thomas J. Campbell (1895–1968), member of a prominent Webster Parish political family. Branton finished third with 2,327 votes, 92 fewer than the second-place candidate, [[Clarence D. Wiley]] of Minden. The fourth-place candidate, Minden alderman [[Frank T. Norman]], would be elected mayor some two years later in 1958.<ref>''Minden Herald,'' January 19, 1956, p. 1.</ref> Wiley went on to unseat Campbell in the runoff election and served for twenty years as clerk of court.

After the Democratic primary for school board was held in 1958, opposition arose to Branton when the school board transferred Douglas Tillman Newsom (1917-1968) from the principalship of Shongaloo High School to that of Dubberly High School in Dubberly in south Webster Parish. Newson's exodus from Shongaloo stalled the development of the agriculture department at the school, and voters retaliated against Branton. In a newspaper advertisement, Branton called for pub,'' October 30, 1958, p. 6.</ref> In the November 4, 1958, [[general election]], Branton was unseated by his fellow Democrat, A. J. Burns Sr. (1907–1976), who ran as a write-in candidate. Burns prevailed, 269 votes (55.5 percent) to 216 votes (44.5 percent).<ref>"Burns Wins Over School Board Head: Gets 55 Percent of Votes for Victory over Branton," ''Minden Herald,'' November 6, 1958, p. 1.</ref>

After the Democratic primary for school board was held in 1958, opposition arose to Branton when the school board transferred Douglas Tillman Newsom (1917-1968) from the principalship of Shongaloo High School to that of Dubberly High School in Dubberly in south Webster Parish. Newson's exodus from Shongaloo stalled the development of the agriculture department at the school, and voters retaliated against Branton. In a newspaper advertisement, Branton called for public school teachers, to have "religious convictions and high professional and moral standards." He also spoke out against school consolidation in rural areas,<ref>''Minden Herald,'' October 30, 1958, p. 6.</ref> In the November 4, 1958, [[general election]], Branton was unseated by his fellow Democrat, A. J. Burns Sr. (1907–1976), who ran as a write-in candidate post-primary. Burns prevailed, 269 votes (55.5 percent) to 216 votes (44.5 percent).<ref>"Burns Wins Over School Board Head: Gets 55 Percent of Votes for Victory over Branton," ''Minden Herald,'' November 6, 1958, p. 1.</ref>

==Three legislative elections==

==Three legislative elections==