Carl Crane

Carl Norman Crane (born October 28, 1939) is the Republican former chairman of the Education Committee of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He served in the state House from 1982 to 2008 from District 70 in East Baton Rouge Parish. Crane was elected as a Democrat in a special election in 1982 but switched to GOP affiliation to win his second full term in 1987.^[2]

A computer consultant by profession, Crane obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Orleans and a Master of Arts from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He is a veteran of the United States Army. He is married to the former Nancy Burns and is Roman Catholic.

Crane supported school vouchers to assist families with children in private or parochial schools, but the legislature has rejected the plan on the grounds that it would deprive funding from already cash-strapped public schools.

Crane secured his second term in 1987 with 9,048 votes (54 percent) over three opponents, two Democrats and one "No Party" candidate. In 1988, Crane ran unsuccessfully for the office of Mayor-President of the Baton Rouge Metro-Council; he polled only 4,554 votes (4.7 percent).^[3] The winner, Tom Ed McHugh of Zachary, defeated former Mayor W.W. Dumas, who sought a comeback for a fifth term in an all-Democrat general election.^[4]

In 1991, Crane led the nonpartisan blanket primary with 5,488 votes (39 percent) and went into a contested general election with Democrat Margaret Pereboom, who trailed with 4,366 ballots (31 percent). A third candidate, fellow Republican Steve Myers, received 4,135 votes (30 percent). Pereboom had also run in 1987. In the second balloting, Crane defeated Pereboom, 8,946 (57 percent) to 6,789 (43 percent).

In 1995, Crane won again over Steve Myers, who had dropped the "R" label and ran as "No Party". He prevailed with 8,182 votes (55 percent) to Myers' 6,666 (45 percent). In 1999, Crane won in the primary over Democrat Charles Moore, 8,897 (62 percent) to 5,453 (38 percent).

In 2003, Crane won his sixth and final term with 10,319 votes (74 percent) over two fellow Republicans, Bryce Murray, who received 2,294 votes (16 percent) and Donald Gene Luther, with 1,388 ballots (10 percent). In 2003, Crane was among thirty-three legislators in both houses and parties who endorsed former House Speaker Hunt Downer for governor of Louisiana. Downer, however, ran a weak sixth in the primary election. The governorship ultimately went to the Democrat Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, who defeated Bobby Jindal, her ultimate successor in the office.

Crane was succeeded by fellow Republican Franklin J. Foil, the winner of the November 17, 2007, general election. Foil defeated a fellow Republican attorney, Pat Culbertson, 5,399 (53 percent) to 4,809 (47 percent) in a small-turnout election. Culberton had nearly won the seat outright in the October 20 primary, with 49 percent to 40 percent for Foil, a United States Navy reserve commander. A third Republican candidate, self-styled "Reagan conservative" Aidan Reynolds, also an attorney, drew only 11 percent of the vote.

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