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 ever election thereafter until 2014, when he ran for attorney general. Branch served as chairman of the HouseCommittee 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 serves on the Legislative Budget Board. Prior to the 81st Session, he served three terms as the Chair of Budget and Oversight on House Public Education Committee and served as Vice Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education. In 2009, Branch was selected by Texas House members from eleven north Texas counties to co-chair the Dallas Area Legislative Delegation, at the delegation's first meeting of the 81st session. Branch replaced retired member Fred Hill as the Republican co-chair. He was re-elected in 2011 to serve as co-chair. 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 " will go down in the history books as one that truly is improving education in our state."
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 in the Shortly following the launch of his campaign, Branch received the endorsement of six of Attorney General Greg Abbott's top lieutenants, including former Solicitor General James C. Ho. 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 GeneralAlberto Gonzales endorsed Branch for attorney general. A majority of the House Republican Caucus endorsed Branch in his bid for attorney general. Shortly after his announcement of candidacy for attorney general, Branch reported more than $4 million on hand, a considerably larger amount than that of his two opponents.
Non-legislative career
In addition to his service in the Legislature, Branch is a corporate lawyer and shareholder of Winstead PC. He is a former judicial clerk to Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jack Pope and a former aide to the late U.S. Senator John Tower. Branch is a member of the bars of Texas, New York and the District of Columbia.
Community involvement
Branch is a member of the Mayor's Downtown Task Force in Dallas, a former president of The Dallas Assembly and a former Chairman of the Texas Public Finance Authority, appointed by Governor George W. Bush. In addition, he is the chairman of SMU's John Tower Center for Political Studies, named for the late Senator Tower, and serves on numerous boards, including The Fund for American Studies in Washington, D.C., the Boy Scouts of America/Circle Ten Council and the Southwestern Medical Foundation in 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. He sits on the board of the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies at SMU.
Family life
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.
