List_of_Governors_of_California

List of governors of California

List of governors of California

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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.

Gavin Newsom, the 40th and current governor of California

Thirty-nine people have served as governor, over 40 distinct terms. Many have been influential nationwide in areas far-flung from state 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 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 to fill a vacant United States Senate seat. The longest tenure is that of Jerry Brown, who 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 Pat Brown who served from 1959 to 1967.

List of governors

For the period before statehood, see list of governors of California before 1850.

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] 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 elected to a third term in 2010, because his previous terms were before the term limit was enacted. The 1849 constitution 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.

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See also

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. Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
  3. 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.[6]
  4. Burnett abruptly resigned after his first annual address was criticized by the legislature.[6]
  5. The 1849 election was non-partisan;[5][9] sources say Burnett was an Independent Democrat.[7]
  6. The 1849 election was non-partisan;[5][9] sources say McDougal was an Independent Democrat.[12]
  7. Represented the Democratic Party
  8. Latham resigned, having been elected to in the United States Senate.[29]
  9. Stanford withdrew after losing the early primaries of the Union/Republican nomination.[41]
  10. First term under an 1862 constitutional amendment, which lengthened terms to four years.[1]
  11. Booth resigned, having been elected to the United States Senate.[51]
  12. Represented the Republican Party
  13. Johnson resigned, having been elected to the United States Senate.[100]
  14. Warren resigned, having been appointed Chief Justice of the United States.[130] His resignation letter specified he would leave office at "12 o'clock midnight, Sunday, Oct 4, 1953".[133]
  15. 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.[134]
  16. Knight instead ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate.[135]
  17. Under a 1990 amendment to the constitution, governors may not serve more than two terms.[157]
  18. Davis was recalled and Schwarzenegger elected to replace him in a special election.[161]
  19. 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.[166]
  20. Newsom's second term began on January 2, 2023, and will expire January 4, 2027; he will be term-limited.
  21. Newsom survived a recall election.[170]

References

General
  • "Governors of California". California State Library. Official Site of the State of California. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  • "Former California Governors". National Governors Association. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  • Sobel, Robert (1978). Biographical directory of the governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. I. Meckler Books. ISBN 9780930466015. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  • Dubin, Michael J. (2003). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776-1860: The Official Results by State and County. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-1439-0.
  • Dubin, Michael J. (2014). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1861-1911: The Official Results by State and County. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5646-8.
  • Kallenbach, Joseph Ernest (1977). American State Governors, 1776-1976. Oceana Publications. ISBN 978-0-379-00665-0. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  • Glashan, Roy R. (1979). American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978. Meckler Books. ISBN 978-0-930466-17-6.
  • "Our Campaigns - Governor of California - History". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
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