List of governors of California
The governor of California is the head of government of California, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced. The governor is also the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The current governor is Gavin Newsom, who has been in office since 2019.
Thirty-nine people have served as governor, over 40 distinct terms; many have been influential nationwide in areas far-flung from politics. Leland Stanford founded Stanford University in 1891. Earl Warren, later Chief Justice of the United States, won an election with the nominations of the three major parties – the only person ever to run essentially unopposed for governor of California. Ronald Reagan, who was president of the Screen Actors Guild and later President of the United States, and Arnold Schwarzenegger both came to prominence through acting. Gray Davis, the 37th governor of California, was the second governor in American history to be recalled by voters. The shortest tenure was that of Milton Latham, who served only five days before being elected by the legislature to fill a vacant United States Senate seat. The longest tenure is that of Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown Jr., who previously served as governor from 1975 to 1983 and again from 2011 to 2019, the only governor to serve non-consecutive terms. He is the son of former governor Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown Sr. who served from 1959 to 1967.
Governors
California was obtained by the United States in the Mexican Cession following the Mexican–American War. Unlike most other states, it was never organized as a territory, and was admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850.
The original California Constitution of 1849 called for elections every two years, with no set start date for the term. An amendment ratified in 1862 increased the term to four years,[1] and the 1879 constitution set the term to begin on the first Monday after January 1 following an election.[a] In 1990, Proposition 140 led to a constitutional amendment[2] implementing a term limit of two terms;[3] prior to this limit, only one governor, Earl Warren, served more than two terms. Jerry Brown was able to be elected to a third term in 2010 because his previous terms were before the term limit was enacted. The 1849 constitution also created the office of lieutenant governor, who, in cases of vacancy in the office of governor, becomes governor.[4] The governor and lieutenant governor are not elected on the same ticket.
No. | Governor | Term in office | Party | Election | Lt. Governor[c] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | rowspan="4" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Peter Hardeman Burnett | December 20, 1849[d] – January 9, 1851 (resigned)[e] |
Democratic | 1849 | rowspan="4" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | John McDougal | |
2 | John McDougal | January 9, 1851 – January 8, 1852 (not candidate for election) |
Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
David C. Broderick (acting) | ||||
3 | John Bigler | January 8, 1852 – January 9, 1856 (lost election) |
1851 | Samuel Purdy | ||||
1853 | ||||||||
4 | style="background:Template:Know Nothing/meta/color;"| | J. Neely Johnson | January 9, 1856 – January 8, 1858 (not candidate for election) |
American | 1855 | style="background:Template:Know Nothing/meta/color;"| | Robert M. Anderson | |
5 | rowspan="4" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | John B. Weller | January 8, 1858 – January 9, 1860 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1857 | rowspan="4" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Joseph Walkup | |
6 | Milton Latham | January 9, 1860 – January 14, 1860 (resigned)[f] |
1859 | John G. Downey | ||||
7 | John G. Downey | January 14, 1860 – January 10, 1862 (not candidate for election) |
Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Isaac N. Quinn (acting) (term ended January 7, 1861) | ||||
Pablo de la Guerra (acting) | ||||||||
8 | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Leland Stanford | January 10, 1862 – December 10, 1863 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1861 | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | John F. Chellis | |
9 | Frederick Low | December 10, 1863 – December 5, 1867 (not candidate for election) |
1863[g] | Tim N. Machin | ||||
10 | style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Henry Huntly Haight | December 5, 1867 – December 8, 1871 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1867 | style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | William Holden | |
11 | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Newton Booth | December 8, 1871 – February 27, 1875 (resigned)[h] |
Republican | 1871 | style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Romualdo Pacheco | |
12 | Romualdo Pacheco | February 27, 1875 – December 9, 1875 (not candidate for election) |
Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | William Irwin (acting) | |||
13 | style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | William Irwin | December 9, 1875 – January 8, 1880 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1875 | James A. Johnson | ||
14 | style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | George Clement Perkins | January 8, 1880 – January 10, 1883 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1879 | style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | John Mansfield | |
15 | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | George Stoneman | January 10, 1883 – January 8, 1887 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1882 | style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | John Daggett | |
16 | Washington Bartlett | January 8, 1887 – September 12, 1887 (died in office) |
1886 | style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Robert Waterman[i] | |||
17 | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Robert Waterman | September 12, 1887 – January 8, 1891 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Stephen M. White[j] (acting) | |
18 | Henry Markham | January 8, 1891 – January 11, 1895 (not candidate for election) |
1890 | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | John B. Reddick | |||
19 | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | James Budd | January 11, 1895 – January 4, 1899 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1894 | Spencer G. Millard[i] (died October 24, 1895) | ||
style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | William T. Jeter | |||||||
20 | rowspan="4" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Henry Gage | January 4, 1899 – January 7, 1903 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1898 | rowspan="4" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Jacob H. Neff | |
21 | George Pardee | January 7, 1903 – January 9, 1907 (not candidate for election) |
1902 | Alden Anderson | ||||
22 | James Gillett | January 9, 1907 – January 3, 1911 (not candidate for election) |
1906 | Warren R. Porter | ||||
23 | Hiram Johnson | January 3, 1911 – March 15, 1917 (resigned)[k] |
Republican | 1910 | Albert Joseph Wallace | |||
rowspan="3" style="background:Template:Progressive Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Progressive | 1914 | style="background:Template:Progressive Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | John M. Eshleman (died February 28, 1916) | ||||
Vacant | ||||||||
style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | William Stephens[i] (took office July 22, 1916) | |||||||
24 | rowspan="9" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | William Stephens | March 15, 1917 – January 8, 1923 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Vacant | ||
1918 | rowspan="3" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | C. C. Young | ||||||
25 | Friend Richardson | January 8, 1923 – January 4, 1927 (not candidate for election) |
1922 | |||||
26 | C. C. Young | January 4, 1927 – January 6, 1931 (lost renomination)[l] |
1926 | Buron Fitts (resigned November 30, 1928) | ||||
Vacant | ||||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Herschel L. Carnahan (appointed December 4, 1928) | |||||||
27 | James Rolph | January 6, 1931 – June 2, 1934 (died in office) |
1930 | Frank Merriam | ||||
28 | Frank Merriam | June 2, 1934 – January 2, 1939 (lost election) |
Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Vacant | ||||
1934 | style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | George J. Hatfield | ||||||
29 | style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Culbert Olson | January 2, 1939 – January 4, 1943 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1938 | style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Ellis E. Patterson | |
30 | rowspan="5" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Earl Warren | January 4, 1943 – October 5, 1953 (resigned)[m] |
Republican[n] | 1942 | rowspan="5" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Frederick F. Houser | |
1946 | Goodwin Knight | |||||||
1950 | ||||||||
31 | Goodwin Knight | October 5, 1953 – January 5, 1959 (not candidate for election)[o] |
Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Harold J. Powers | |||
1954 | ||||||||
32 | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Pat Brown | January 5, 1959 – January 2, 1967 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1958 | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Glenn M. Anderson | |
1962 | ||||||||
33 | rowspan="4" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Ronald Reagan | January 2, 1967 – January 6, 1975 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1966 | rowspan="4" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Robert Finch (resigned January 8, 1969) | |
Edwin Reinecke (resigned October 2, 1974) | ||||||||
1970 | ||||||||
John L. Harmer | ||||||||
34 | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Jerry Brown | January 6, 1975 – January 3, 1983 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1974 | style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Mervyn M. Dymally | |
1978 | style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Michael Curb[i] | ||||||
35 | rowspan="4" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | George Deukmejian | January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1991 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1982 | rowspan="9" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Leo T. McCarthy[j] | |
1986 | ||||||||
36 | Pete Wilson | January 7, 1991 – January 4, 1999 (term limited) |
1990 | |||||
1994 | Gray Davis[j] | |||||||
37 | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Gray Davis | January 4, 1999 – November 17, 2003 (recalled)[p] |
Democratic | 1998 | Cruz Bustamante[j] | ||
2002 | ||||||||
38 | rowspan="4" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Arnold Schwarzenegger | November 17, 2003 – January 3, 2011 (term limited) |
Republican | 2003 (special)[p] | |||
2006 | John Garamendi[j] (resigned November 3, 2009) | |||||||
Mona Pasquil[j] (acting) | ||||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Abel Maldonado[i][q] (appointed April 27, 2010) | |||||||
39 | rowspan="4" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Jerry Brown | January 3, 2011 – January 7, 2019 (term limited) |
Democratic | 2010 | |||
rowspan="3" style="background:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"| | Gavin Newsom[q] (took office January 10, 2011) | |||||||
2014 | ||||||||
40 | Gavin Newsom | January 7, 2019 – present[r] |
2018 | Eleni Kounalakis | ||||
No. | Governor | Term in office | Party | Election | Lt. Governor |
Succession
See also
- An Act for the Admission of the State of California
- List of California state legislatures
- List of Governors of California before admission
- List of Governors of California by age
- Spouses of the Governor of California
Notes
- ^ The rule of the term beginning on the first Monday after January 1 does not seem to have been followed until 1939; all terms between 1880 and 1931, except for 1923, began on the "wrong" day, often just one or two days off. This is well sourced, and it is unknown why the terms did not match the constitution, or why they began to match the constitution in 1939.
- ^ Data is sourced from the National Governors Association, unless supplemental references are required.
- ^ Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
- ^ A civilian government was formed in late 1849 prior to official statehood, and operated as the state government for ten months before official statehood was granted.[5]
- ^ Burnett resigned, citing personal reasons; he was reportedly unhappy with the legislature, and wanted more time to manage his business.[6]
- ^ Latham resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.[7]
- ^ First term under an 1862 constitutional amendment, which lengthened terms to four years.[1]
- ^ Booth resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.[8]
- ^ a b c d e Represented the Republican Party
- ^ a b c d e f Represented the Democratic Party
- ^ Johnson resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.[9]
- ^ Richardson lost the Republican nomination to James Rolph.[10]
- ^ Warren resigned to be Chief Justice of the United States.[11]
- ^ Warren ran as a Republican for his first and third terms. For his second term, he won the nomination of the Republican, Democratic, and Progressive parties.[12]
- ^ Knight instead unsuccessfully ran for United States Senate.[13]
- ^ a b Davis was recalled and Schwarzenegger elected to replace him in a special election.[14]
- ^ a b Newsom delayed his swearing in as lieutenant governor until January 10, 2011, to remain mayor of San Francisco; Maldonado stayed on as lieutenant governor until then.[15]
- ^ Newsom's first term expires on January 2, 2023.
References
- General
- "Governors of California". California State Library. Official Site of the State of California. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- "Former California Governors". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- Sobel, Robert (1978). Biographical directory of the governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. I. Meckler Books. ISBN 9780930466015. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- "Chronology of California's Lieutenant Governors". Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
- Constitutions
- "Constitution of the State of California". Legislative Counsel of California. 1879. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
- "Constitution of the State of California". California Secretary of State. 1849. Archived from the original on January 28, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
- Specific
- ^ a b Henning, W.F. (1899). Constitution of the State of California. C.W. Palm Company. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
- ^ "California Ballot Propositions 1990-1999". Los Angeles County Law Library. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
- ^ CA Const. art. V, § 2
- ^ CA Const. art. V, § 10
- ^ "Peter Hardeman Burnett". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- ^ Durham, Walter T. (1997). Volunteer Forty-niners: Tennesseans and the California Gold Rush. Vanderbilt University Press. p. 193. ISBN 0-8265-1298-4. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
- ^ "Milton Slocum Latham". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- ^ "Newton Booth". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- ^ "Hiram Warren Johnson". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- ^ "Rolph Victor in California Race". Nashville Banner. Nashville, Tennessee. August 28, 1930. p. 13. Retrieved February 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Earl Warren". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- ^ "Biography of Earl Warren". Earl Warren College. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
- ^ "Goodwin Jess Knight". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
- ^ "Statewide Special Election". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
- ^ Upton Oot, John (January 7, 2011). "Newsom's Dual Role Raises Legal Quandary". The Bay Citizen. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
External links