Sam G. Bratton

Who was Sam G. Bratton?

Sam Gilbert Bratton was a Democratic Party politician from the state of New Mexico who served in the United States Senate from 1925 until 1933.

Bratton was born in Kosse, Texas on August 19, 1888, where he attended the public schools. A graduate of the state Normal School, he taught school for some years in Claude and Hereford.

He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1909, whereupon he began practice in Farwell, Texas. He continued his practice upon moving to Clovis, New Mexico in 1915; from 1919 to 1921 he served as the district court judge for the fifth judicial district of that state. Upon division of the district, he continued in the same capacity for the ninth judicial district until 1923, when he became an associate of the New Mexico Supreme Court. He remained in this position until 1924, when he resigned to accept the nomination for Senate. Elected in 1924 and reelected in 1930, Bratton served until his resignation in 1933, which was tendered upon his appointment as a circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; in this capacity he served until 1961. As a senator Bratton chaired the Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation.