Charles Eugene Branstool (born December 13, 1936) is an American politician of the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

party. Branstool, a

Utica, Ohio Utica is a village in Knox and Licking counties in the U.S. state of Ohio, along the North Fork of the Licking River. The population was 2,132 at the 2010 census. The village is home to the general headquarters (HQ) of the Velvet Ice Cream C ...

, farmer, originally ran for a seat in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in C ...

in 1974, and beat Republican

Raymond Luther Raymond Paul Luther (September 5, 1931 – January 18, 2003) was a Republican politician who formerly served in the Ohio General Assembly. When House minority leader John McDonald opted to run for Ohio Attorney General in 1970, Luther enter ...

in the general election. He won reelection in 1976, 1978, and 1980.

Career

Following redistricting in 1982, Branstool opted to make a run for the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

, running for a newly drawn district against

Sam Speck Samuel Wallace Speck, Jr. is a former member of the Ohio Senate, where he served from 1977 to 1983. He represented the 20th District. Education Speck earned his bachelor's degree from Muskingum University and his master's and doctoral degrees ...

, whose home had been drawn out of his former district. One of the most contested races of that cycle, Branstool defeated Speck, who ultimately returned to his old district, which wasn't up for reelection. In 1986, Branstool was mentioned as a potential candidate for Ohio Lieutenant Governor, running with Governor Richard Celeste. However, this never went forward. He went on to win reelection to his Senate seat in a slim margin. Soon after, he was elected Senate minority whip by his colleagues. In 1990, Branstool was chosen as the running mate of Democratic gubernatorial nominee

Tony Celebrezze Anthony Joseph "Tony" Celebrezze Jr. (September 8, 1941 – July 4, 2003) was an American politician of the Democratic party, who served as Ohio Attorney General, Ohio Secretary of State and an Ohio State Senator. He was the son of Anthony ...

, who lost the election to George Voinovich. Following the defeat, Branstool opted to become Chairman of the

Ohio Democratic Party The Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Ohio. Summit County Council President Elizabeth Walters has been the party's chairwoman since January 2021. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is the top Ohi ...

, and succeeded. He would serve in the capacity until 1993, when he stepped down and was replaced by Harry Meshel. Branstool went on to serve under President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

as an assistant Secretary of Agriculture. However, he would only serve in the capacity for seven months, citing his desires to return home. However, he soon was appointed to the

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, also known as Farmer Mac, is a stockholder-owned, publicly traded company that was chartered by the United States federal government in 1988 to serve as a secondary market in agricultural loans such ...

's Board of Trustees. In a surprise move, Branstool opted to run in 1998 against Jay Hottinger for his former seat in the Senate. However, he lost in what was now a solidly Republican district. He since has retired to Utica. Branstool made a return to the news in 2011 as an opponent of new legislation to curb

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The ...

. “An individual worker who does his 40 hours or whatever, it’s hard for him to represent himself alone, and this is a way that he can do that – and sometimes they need leaders,” Branstool said. “Other elements of our society, whether it’s the pharmaceutical companies, the banks, the insurance companies, payday lenders, all these guys have people looking after their interests. And this is a way that working people have a chance to look after theirs.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Branstool, Eugene Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Ohio state senators Living people 1936 births People from Utica, Ohio

Career

See also

References