Ralph Norman Bauer, sometimes known as R. Norman Bauer, was a lawyer from Franklin in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1928 to 1936 and again from 1940 to 1948. During his last two terms, Bauer was the Speaker of the chamber, having served in that capacity under the administrations of Governors Sam Houston Jones and Jimmie Davis.