List of governors of California

The governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, 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.

Gavin Newsom, the 40th and current Governor of California

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. 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.[lower-alpha 1] 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.

Governors of the State of California[lower-alpha 2]
No. Governor Term in office Party Election Lt. Governor[lower-alpha 3]
1   Peter Hardeman Burnett December 20, 1849[lower-alpha 4]
–
January 9, 1851
(resigned)[lower-alpha 5]		 Democratic 1849   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 J. Neely Johnson January 9, 1856
–
January 8, 1858
(not candidate for election)		 American 1855 Robert M. Anderson
5 John B. Weller January 8, 1858
–
January 9, 1860
(not candidate for election)		 Democratic 1857 Joseph Walkup
6 Milton Latham January 9, 1860
–
January 14, 1860
(resigned)[lower-alpha 6]		 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 Leland Stanford January 10, 1862
–
December 10, 1863
(not candidate for election)		 Republican 1861 John F. Chellis
9 Frederick Low December 10, 1863
–
December 5, 1867
(not candidate for election)		 1863[lower-alpha 7] Tim N. Machin
10 Henry Huntly Haight December 5, 1867
–
December 8, 1871
(lost election)		 Democratic 1867 William Holden
11 Newton Booth December 8, 1871
–
February 27, 1875
(resigned)[lower-alpha 8]		 Republican 1871 Romualdo Pacheco
12 Romualdo Pacheco February 27, 1875
–
December 9, 1875
(not candidate for election)		 Succeeded from
Lieutenant
Governor		 William Irwin
(acting)
13 William Irwin December 9, 1875
–
January 8, 1880
(not candidate for election)		 Democratic 1875 James A. Johnson
14 George Clement Perkins January 8, 1880
–
January 10, 1883
(not candidate for election)		 Republican 1879 John Mansfield
15 George Stoneman January 10, 1883
–
January 8, 1887
(not candidate for election)		 Democratic 1882 John Daggett
16 Washington Bartlett January 8, 1887
–
September 12, 1887
(died in office)		 1886 Robert Waterman[lower-alpha 9]
17 Robert Waterman September 12, 1887
–
January 8, 1891
(not candidate for election)		 Republican Succeeded from
Lieutenant
Governor		 Stephen M. White[lower-alpha 10]
(acting)
18 Henry Markham January 8, 1891
–
January 11, 1895
(not candidate for election)		 1890 John B. Reddick
19 James Budd January 11, 1895
–
January 4, 1899
(not candidate for election)		 Democratic 1894 Spencer G. Millard[lower-alpha 9]
(died October 24, 1895)
William T. Jeter
20 Henry Gage January 4, 1899
–
January 7, 1903
(not candidate for election)		 Republican 1898 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)[lower-alpha 11]		 Republican 1910 Albert Joseph Wallace
Progressive 1914 John M. Eshleman
(died February 28, 1916)
Vacant
William Stephens[lower-alpha 9]
(took office July 22, 1916)
24 William Stephens March 15, 1917
–
January 8, 1923
(not candidate for election)		 Republican Succeeded from
Lieutenant
Governor		 Vacant
1918 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)[lower-alpha 12]		 1926 Buron Fitts
(resigned November 30, 1928)
Vacant
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 George J. Hatfield
29 Culbert Olson January 2, 1939
–
January 4, 1943
(lost election)		 Democratic 1938 Ellis E. Patterson
30 Earl Warren January 4, 1943
–
October 5, 1953
(resigned)[lower-alpha 13]		 Republican[lower-alpha 14] 1942 Frederick F. Houser
1946 Goodwin Knight
1950
31 Goodwin Knight October 5, 1953
–
January 5, 1959
(not candidate for election)[lower-alpha 15]		 Republican Succeeded from
Lieutenant
Governor		 Harold J. Powers
1954
32 Pat Brown January 5, 1959
–
January 2, 1967
(lost election)		 Democratic 1958 Glenn M. Anderson
1962
33 Ronald Reagan January 2, 1967
–
January 6, 1975
(not candidate for election)		 Republican 1966 Robert Finch
(resigned January 8, 1969)
Edwin Reinecke
(resigned October 2, 1974)
1970
John L. Harmer
34 Jerry Brown January 6, 1975
–
January 3, 1983
(not candidate for election)		 Democratic 1974 Mervyn M. Dymally
1978 Michael Curb[lower-alpha 9]
35 George Deukmejian January 3, 1983
–
January 7, 1991
(not candidate for election)		 Republican 1982 Leo T. McCarthy[lower-alpha 10]
1986
36 Pete Wilson January 7, 1991
–
January 4, 1999
(term limited)		 1990
1994 Gray Davis[lower-alpha 10]
37 Gray Davis January 4, 1999
–
November 17, 2003
(recalled)[lower-alpha 16]		 Democratic 1998 Cruz Bustamante[lower-alpha 10]
2002
38 Arnold Schwarzenegger November 17, 2003
–
January 3, 2011
(term limited)		 Republican 2003
(special)[lower-alpha 16]
2006 John Garamendi[lower-alpha 10]
(resigned November 3, 2009)
Mona Pasquil[lower-alpha 10]
(acting)
Abel Maldonado[lower-alpha 9][lower-alpha 17]
(appointed April 27, 2010)
39 Jerry Brown January 3, 2011
–
January 7, 2019
(term limited)		 Democratic 2010
Gavin Newsom[lower-alpha 17]
(took office January 10, 2011)
2014
40 Gavin Newsom January 7, 2019
–
present[lower-alpha 18]		 2018 Eleni Kounalakis

Succession

See also
  • List of Governors of California before admission
  • List of Governors of California by age
  • Spouses of the Governor of California
  • List of California state legislatures

Notes
  1. 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.
  2. Data is sourced from the National Governors Association, unless supplemental references are required.
  3. Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
  4. 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]
  5. Burnett resigned, citing personal reasons; he was reportedly unhappy with the legislature, and wanted more time to manage his business.[6]
  6. Latham resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.[7]
  7. First term under an 1862 constitutional amendment, which lengthened terms to four years.[1]
  8. Booth resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.[8]
  9. Represented the Republican Party
  10. Represented the Democratic Party
  11. Johnson resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.[9]
  12. Richardson lost the Republican nomination to James Rolph.[10]
  13. Warren resigned to be Chief Justice of the United States.[11]
  14. 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]
  15. Knight instead unsuccessfully ran for United States Senate.[13]
  16. Davis was recalled and Schwarzenegger elected to replace him in a special election.[14]
  17. 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]
  18. Newsom's first term expires on January 2, 2023.

References
General
  • "Governors of California". California State Library. Official Site of the State of California. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2007.
  • "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
Specific
  1. Henning, W.F. (1899). Constitution of the State of California. C.W. Palm Company. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  2. "California Ballot Propositions 1990-1999". Los Angeles County Law Library. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  3. CA Const. art. V, § 2
  4. CA Const. art. V, § 10
  5. "Peter Hardeman Burnett". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  6. 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.
  7. "Milton Slocum Latham". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  8. "Newton Booth". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  9. "Hiram Warren Johnson". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  10. "Rolph Victor in California Race". Nashville Banner. Nashville, Tennessee. August 28, 1930. p. 13. Retrieved February 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Earl Warren". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  12. "Biography of Earl Warren". Earl Warren College. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  13. "Goodwin Jess Knight". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  14. "Statewide Special Election". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
  15. 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.

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