List of governors of California explained

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 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

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. 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, and then to a fourth and final term in 2014, because his previous terms were before the term limit was officially enacted. The 1849 constitution officially created the office of lieutenant governor, who, in cases of vacancy in the office of governor, becomes governor.^[4] The governor and the lieutenant governor are not formally elected on the same ticket.

!scope="colgroup" colspan="4"

Governor	Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor
1	data-sort-value="Burnett, Peter"				Peter Hardeman Burnett ^[5] ^[6]	^[7] – January 9, 1851	Nonpartisan	1849
2	data-sort-value="McDougal, John"				John McDougal ^[8] ^[9]	^[10] – January 8, 1852	Nonpartisan
3				John Bigler ^[11] ^[12]	^[13] – January 9, 1856	Democratic	1851
							1853
4	data-sort-value="Johnson, J. Neely"				J. Neely Johnson ^[14] ^[15]	^[16] – January 8, 1858	American	1855
5	data-sort-value="Weller, John"				John B. Weller ^[17] ^[18]	^[19] – January 9, 1860	Democratic	1857
6	data-sort-value="Latham, Milton"				Milton Latham ^[20] ^[21]	^[22] – January 14, 1860	Lecompton Democratic	1859
7		John G. Downey ^[23] ^[24]			^[25] – January 10, 1862	Lecompton Democratic
8	data-sort-value="Stanford, Leland"				Leland Stanford ^[26] ^[27]	^[28] – December 10, 1863	Republican	1861
9	data-sort-value="Low, Frederick"				Frederick Low ^[29] ^[30]	^[31] – December 5, 1867	Union	1863
10	data-sort-value="Haight, Henry"				Henry Huntly Haight ^[32] ^[33]	^[34] – December 8, 1871	Democratic	1867
11	data-sort-value="Booth, Newton"				Newton Booth ^[35] ^[36]	^[37] – February 27, 1875	Republican	1871
12	data-sort-value="Pacheco, Romualdo"				Romualdo Pacheco ^[38] ^[39]	^[40] – December 9, 1875	Republican
13	data-sort-value="Irwin, William"				William Irwin ^[41] ^[42]	^[43] – January 8, 1880	Democratic	1875
14	data-sort-value="Perkins, George"				George C. Perkins ^[44] ^[45]	^[46] – January 10, 1883	Republican	1879
15	data-sort-value="Stoneman, George"				George Stoneman ^[47] ^[48]	^[49] – January 8, 1887 ^[50]	Democratic	1882
16	data-sort-value="Bartlett, Washington"				Washington Bartlett ^[51] ^[52]	^[53] – September 12, 1887	Democratic	1886
17	data-sort-value="Waterman, Robert"				Robert Waterman ^[54] ^[55]	^[56] – January 8, 1891	Republican
18	data-sort-value="Markham, Henry"				Henry Markham ^[57] ^[58]	^[59] – January 11, 1895	Republican	1890
19				James Budd ^[60] ^[61]	^[62] – January 4, 1899	Democratic	1894
								Vacant
20	data-sort-value="Gage, Henry"				Henry T. Gage ^[63] ^[64]	^[65] – January 7, 1903	Republican	1898
21	data-sort-value="Pardee, George"				George Pardee ^[66] ^[67]	^[68] – January 9, 1907	Republican	1902
22	data-sort-value="Gillett, James"				James Gillett ^[69] ^[70]	^[71] – January 3, 1911	Republican	1906
23		Hiram Johnson ^[72] ^[73]			^[74] – March 15, 1917	Republican	1910
						Progressive	1914
								Vacant
24				William Stephens ^[75] ^[76]	^[77] – January 9, 1923	Republican		Vacant
							1918
25	data-sort-value="Richardson, Friend"				Friend Richardson ^[78] ^[79]	^[80] – January 4, 1927 ^[81]	Republican				1922
26				C. C. Young ^[82] ^[83]	^[84] – January 6, 1931 ^[85]	Republican	1926
								Vacant
27	data-sort-value="Rolph, James"				James Rolph ^[86] ^[87]	^[88] – June 2, 1934	Republican			1930
28				Frank Merriam ^[89] ^[90]	^[91] – January 2, 1939	Republican		Vacant
							1934
29	data-sort-value="Olson, Culbert"				Culbert Olson ^[92] ^[93]	^[94] – January 4, 1943	Democratic	1938
30				Earl Warren ^[95] ^[96]	^[97] – October 4, 1953	Republican	1942
							1946
							1950
31				Goodwin Knight ^[98] ^[99]	^[100] – January 5, 1959	Republican
							1954
32				Pat Brown ^[101] ^[102]	^[103] – January 2, 1967	Democratic	1958
							1962
33				Ronald Reagan ^[104] ^[105]	^[106] – January 6, 1975	Republican	1966
							1970
34				Jerry Brown ^[107] ^[108]	^[109] – January 3, 1983	Democratic	1974
							1978
35				George Deukmejian ^[110] ^[111]	^[112] – January 7, 1991	Republican	1982
							1986
36				Pete Wilson ^[113] ^[114]	^[115] – January 4, 1999	Republican	1990
							1994
37				Gray Davis ^[116] ^[117]	^[118] – November 17, 2003	Democratic	1998
							2002
38				Arnold Schwarzenegger ^[119] ^[120]	^[121] – January 3, 2011	Republican	2003
							2006
39				Jerry Brown ^[122]	^[123] – January 7, 2019	Democratic	2010
							2014
40				Gavin Newsom ^[124] ^[125]	^[126] – Incumbent	Democratic	2018
							2021
							2022

See also

• • List of California state legislatures
• List of governors of California before 1850
• Spouses of the governor of California

References

General

• Web site: Governors of California . December 21, 2022 . California State Library . Official Site of the State of California.
• Web site: Former California Governors . December 21, 2022 . National Governors Association.
• Book: Sobel, Robert . Biographical directory of the governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. I . Meckler Books . 1978 . 9780930466015 . July 10, 2019.
• Book: Dubin, Michael J. . United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776-1860: The Official Results by State and County . 2003 . McFarland . 978-0-7864-1439-0.
• Book: Dubin, Michael J. . United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1861-1911: The Official Results by State and County . 2014 . McFarland . 978-0-7864-5646-8 . en.
• Book: Kallenbach, Joseph Ernest . American State Governors, 1776-1976 . 1977 . Oceana Publications . 978-0-379-00665-0 . September 23, 2023.
• Book: Glashan, Roy R. . American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978 . 1979 . Meckler Books . 978-0-930466-17-6.
• Web site: Our Campaigns - Governor of California - History . 2023-07-25 . www.ourcampaigns.com.

Constitutions

• Web site: 1879 . Constitution of the State of California . July 20, 2008 . Legislative Counsel of California.
• Web site: 1849 . Constitution of the State of California . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100128022726/http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/collections/1849/full-text.htm . January 28, 2010 . February 27, 2010 . California Secretary of State.

Specific

External links

• Office of the Governor of California

Notes and References

1. Book: Henning, W.F. . Constitution of the State of California . C.W. Palm Company . 1899 . January 18, 2008.
2. Web site: California Ballot Propositions 1990-1999 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101007124417/http://lalaw.lib.ca.us/research/ballots/1990/1990.aspx . October 7, 2010 . August 2, 2010 . Los Angeles County Law Library.
3. CA Const. art. V, § 2
4. CA Const. art. V, § 10
5. Web site: Peter Hardeman Burnett . January 3, 2011 . February 6, 2023 . National Governors Association.
6. Web site: Peter Burnett . February 6, 2023 . California State Library.
7. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 1849 - 1850 sess., 20, accessed August 1, 2023
8. Web site: John McDougal . January 3, 2011 . February 6, 2023 . National Governors Association.
9. Web site: John McDougal . February 6, 2023 . California State Library.
10. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Senate. 1851 sess., 43 - 47, accessed August 1, 2023
11. Web site: John Bigler . January 3, 2011 . February 6, 2023 . National Governors Association.
12. Web site: John Bigler . February 6, 2023 . California State Library.
13. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1852 sess., 27, accessed August 1, 2023
14. Web site: John Neely Johnson . January 3, 2011 . February 6, 2023 . National Governors Association.
15. Web site: J. Neely Johnson . February 6, 2023 . California State Library.
16. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1856 sess., 82, accessed August 1, 2023
17. Web site: John B. Weller . January 3, 2011 . February 6, 2023 . National Governors Association.
18. Web site: John Weller . February 6, 2023 . California State Library.
19. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1858 sess., 71, accessed August 1, 2023
20. Web site: Milton Slocum Latham . January 3, 2011 . February 6, 2023 . National Governors Association.
21. Web site: Milton Latham . February 6, 2023 . California State Library.
22. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1860 sess., 106, accessed August 1, 2023
23. Web site: John G. Downey . January 3, 2011 . February 6, 2023 . National Governors Association.
24. Web site: John Downey . February 6, 2023 . California State Library.
25. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1860 sess., 153, accessed August 1, 2023
26. Web site: Amasa Leland Stanford . January 3, 2011 . February 6, 2023 . National Governors Association.
27. Web site: Leland Stanford . February 6, 2023 . California State Library.
28. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1862 sess., 97 - 98, accessed August 1, 2023
29. Web site: Frederick Ferdinand Low . January 3, 2011 . February 6, 2023 . National Governors Association.
30. Web site: Frederick Low . February 6, 2023 . California State Library.
31. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1863 - 1864 sess., 93, accessed August 1, 2023
32. Web site: Henry Huntly Haight . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
33. Web site: Henry Haight . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
34. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1867 - 1868 sess., 91, accessed August 1, 2023
35. Web site: Newton Booth . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
36. Web site: Newton Booth . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
37. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1871 - 1872 sess., 119, accessed August 1, 2023
38. Web site: Romualdo Pacheco . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
39. Web site: Romualdo Pacheco . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
40. News: 1875-02-28 . Our New Governor . 8 . San Francisco Chronicle . 2023-08-01.
41. Web site: William Irwin . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
42. Web site: William Irwin . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
43. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1875 - 1876 sess., 19, accessed August 1, 2023
44. Web site: George Clement Perkins . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
45. Web site: George Perkins . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
46. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1880 sess., 31, accessed August 1, 2023
47. Web site: George Stoneman . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
48. Web site: George Stoneman . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
49. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1883 sess., 15, accessed August 1, 2023
50. News: 1886-08-31 . The Convention . 1 . The San Francisco Examiner . 2023-12-23.
51. Web site: Washington Bartlett . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
52. Web site: Washington Bartlett . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
53. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1887 sess., 39, accessed August 1, 2023
54. Web site: Robert Whitney Waterman . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
55. Web site: Robert Waterman . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
56. News: 1887-09-13 . Pain Is Over . 3 . Oakland Tribune . 2023-08-01.
57. Web site: Henry Harrison Markham . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
58. Web site: Henry Harrison Markham . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
59. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1891 sess., 44, accessed August 1, 2023
60. Web site: James Herbert Budd . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
61. Web site: James Budd . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
62. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1895 sess., 32, accessed August 1, 2023
63. Web site: Henry Tifft Gage . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
64. Web site: Henry Gage . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
65. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1899 sess., 45, accessed August 1, 2023
66. Web site: George Cooper Pardee . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
67. Web site: George Pardee . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
68. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1903 sess., 69, accessed August 1, 2023
69. Web site: James Norris Gillett . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
70. Web site: James Gillett . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
71. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1907 sess., 34, accessed August 1, 2023
72. Web site: Hiram Warren Johnson . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
73. Web site: Hiram Johnson . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
74. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1911 sess., 53, accessed August 1, 2023
75. Web site: William Dennison Stephens . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
76. Web site: William Stephens . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
77. News: 1917-03-15 . Governor Quits Job To Become U.S. Senator . 1 . Record Searchlight . 2023-08-01.
78. Web site: Friend William Richardson . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
79. Web site: Friend Richardson . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
80. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1923 sess., 97, accessed August 1, 2023
81. News: 1926-09-11 . Young Wins Republican Nomination . 1 . Mendocino Coast Beacon . 2023-02-08.
82. Web site: Clement Calhoun Young . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
83. Web site: C. C. Young . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
84. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1927 sess., 60, accessed August 1, 2023
85. News: 1930-08-28 . Rolph Nominated for Governor by Margin of 24,000 . 1 . The Fresno Bee . 2023-02-08.
86. Web site: James Rolph . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
87. Web site: James Rolph . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
88. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1931 sess., 176, accessed August 1, 2023
89. Web site: Frank Finley Merriam . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
90. Web site: Frank Merriam . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
91. News: 1934-06-02 . F.F. Merriam Assumes Post of Governor . 1 . Los Angeles Evening Post-Record . 2023-08-01.
92. Web site: Culbert L. Olson . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
93. Web site: Culbert Olson . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
94. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1939 sess., 26, accessed August 1, 2023
95. Web site: Earl Warren . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
96. Web site: Earl Warren . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
97. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1943 sess., 20, accessed August 1, 2023
98. Web site: Goodwin Jess Knight . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
99. Web site: Goodwin Knight . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
100. News: Phillips . Herbert L. . 1953-10-05 . Knight Takes Oath As Governor; Warren Becomes Chief Justice . 1 . The Sacramento Bee . 2023-08-02.
101. Web site: Edmund Gerald Brown . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
102. Web site: Edmund G. "Pat" Brown . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
103. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1959 sess., 18, accessed August 1, 2023
104. Web site: Ronald Wilson Reagan . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
105. Web site: Ronald Reagan . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
106. News: Salzman . Ed . 1967-01-02 . Reagan Takes Midnight Oath . 1 . Oakland Tribune . 2023-08-02.
107. Web site: Edmund G. Brown Jr. . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
108. Web site: Edmond G. "Jerry" Brown . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
109. Calif. State Legislature. Journal of the Assembly. 1975 sess., 192, accessed August 1, 2023
110. Web site: George Deukmejian . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
111. Web site: George Deukmejian . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
112. News: Shuit . Douglas . 1983-01-03 . Deukmejian Takes Oath As Governor . 1 . The Los Angeles Times . 2023-08-02.
113. Web site: Pete Wilson . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
114. Web site: Pete Wilson . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
115. News: Skelton . George . 1991-01-08 . Government Must Renew Credibility, Wilson Declares . A1 . The Los Angeles Times . 2023-08-02.
116. Web site: Gray Davis . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
117. Web site: Gray Davis . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
118. News: Lesher . Dave . 1999-01-05 . Davis Sworn In, Pledges 'Common Sense' Approach . A1 . The Los Angeles Times . 2023-08-02.
119. Web site: Arnold Schwarzenegger . January 3, 2011 . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
120. Web site: Arnold Schwarzenegger . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
121. News: Nicholas . Peter . Mathews . Joe . 2003-11-18 . Schwarzenegger Sworn In, Rescinds Car Tax Increase . A1 . The Los Angeles Times . 2023-08-02.
122. Web site: Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
123. News: Siders . David . 2011-01-04 . Governor Seens a Year of Courage, Sacrifice . A1 . The Sacramento Bee . 2023-08-02.
124. Web site: Gavin Newsom . February 7, 2023 . National Governors Association.
125. Web site: Gavin Newsom . February 7, 2023 . California State Library.
126. News: Willon . Phil . Luna . Taryn . Mason . Melanie . 2019-01-08 . 'We'll Be There for Each Other' . A1 . The Los Angeles Times . 2023-08-02.