List of governors of Ohio facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Governor of the State of Ohio |
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Standard of the Governor of Ohio
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Seal of the Governor of Ohio
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Style | The Honorable |
Residence | Ohio Governor's Mansion |
Term length | Four years, two consecutive with four-year pause thereafter |
Inaugural holder | Edward Tiffin |
Formation | March 3, 1803 |
Deputy | Lieutenant Governor of Ohio |
Salary | $148,886 (2015) |
Website | https://governor.ohio.gov |
The governor of Ohio is the head of government of Ohio and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state's military forces. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Ohio General Assembly, the power to convene the legislature and the power to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.
There have been 64 governors of Ohio, serving 70 distinct terms. The longest term was held by Jim Rhodes, who was elected four times and served just under sixteen years in two non-consecutive periods of two terms each (1963–1971 and 1975–1983). The shortest terms were held by John William Brown and Nancy Hollister, who each served for only 11 days after the governors preceding them resigned in order to begin the terms to which they had been elected in the United States Senate; the shortest-serving elected governor was John M. Pattison, who died in office five months into his term. The current governor is Republican Mike DeWine, who took office on January 14, 2019.
Contents
Qualifications
To become governor of Ohio, a candidate must be a qualified elector in the state. This means that any candidate for governor must be at least 18 years old at the time of election, a resident of Ohio for at least 30 days before the election, and a U.S. citizen. Convicted felons and those deemed by the courts as incompetent to vote are not eligible. There is a term limit of two consecutive terms as governor.
Powers
The governor is the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws; the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Ohio State Legislature; the power to convene the legislature; and the power to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.
Other duties and privileges of the office include:
- Executing all laws and requiring written information on any office from the head of that office
- Making an annual address to the General Assembly, with recommendation for legislation
- Convening extraordinary sessions of the legislature with limited purposes
- Adjourning the legislature when the two chambers cannot agree to do so themselves, not to include the privilege of adjourning the legislature past the sine die set for the regular session
- Keeping and using "The Great Seal of the State of Ohio"
- Signing and sealing all commissions granted in the name of the state of Ohio
- Nominating, in the event of a vacancy in the Lieutenant Governor's office, a new officer, subject to a confirmatory vote of both chambers of the legislature
- Making vacancy appointments for all "key state officers" (the Auditor, the Treasurer, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General. Such appointments are for the remainder of the term when the next general election is less than 40 days away and until the next general election otherwise
- Accepting a report from the head of each executive department at least once a year, not later than five days before the regular session of the legislature convenes, and including the substance of those reports in the annual address to the legislature
- Making all appointments not otherwise provided for, with the advice and consent of the Senate, unless the Senate refuses to act, in which case the Governor's appointee takes offices by default
Succession
Should the office of governor become vacant due to death, resignation, or conviction of impeachment, the lieutenant governor assumes the title of governor. Should the office of lieutenant governor also become vacant, the president of the senate becomes the acting governor. If the vacancy of both offices took place during the first twenty months of the term, a special election is to be held on the next even-numbered year to elect new officers to serve out the current term. Prior to 1851, the speaker of the senate acted as governor for the term. Since 1978, the governor and lieutenant governor have been elected on the same ticket; prior to then, they could be (and often were) members of different parties.
Governors
Governors of Northwest Territory
Initially after the American Revolution, parts of the area now known as Ohio were claimed by New York, Virginia, and Connecticut; however, New York ceded its claim in 1782, Virginia in 1784, and Connecticut in 1786, though it maintained its Western Reserve in the area until 1800. On July 13, 1787, the Northwest Territory was formed. As territories were split from it, one of them eventually came to represent the area of present-day Ohio.
Throughout its 15-year history, Northwest Territory had only one governor, Arthur St. Clair. He was removed from office by President Thomas Jefferson on November 22, 1802, and no successor was named; Charles Willing Byrd, as Secretary of the Territory, acted as governor until statehood.
No. | Governor | Term in office | Appointed by | |
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1 | Arthur St. Clair March 23, 1737 – August 31, 1818 (aged 81) |
October 5, 1787 – November 22, 1802 |
Continental Congress | |
2 | Charles Willing Byrd July 26, 1770 – August 13, 1828 (aged 58) |
November 22, 1802 – March 3, 1803 |
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Governors of the State of Ohio
Ohio was admitted to the Union on March 1, 1803. Since then, it has had 64 governors, six of whom (Allen Trimble, Wilson Shannon, Rutherford B. Hayes, James M. Cox, Frank Lausche, and Jim Rhodes) served non-consecutive terms.
The first constitution of 1803 allowed governors to serve for two three-year terms, limited to six of any eight years, commencing on the first Monday in the December following an election. The current constitution of 1851 removed the term limit, and shifted the start of the term to the second Monday in January following an election. In 1908, Ohio switched from holding elections in odd-numbered years to even-numbered years, with the preceding governor (from the 1905 election) serving an extra year. A 1957 amendment lengthened the term to four years and allowed governors to only succeed themselves once, having to wait four years after their second term in a row before being allowed to run again. An Ohio Supreme Court ruling in 1973 clarified this to mean governors could theoretically serve unlimited terms, as long as they waited four years after every second term.
No. | Governor | Term in office | Party | Election | Lt. Governor | |||
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1 | Edward Tiffin June 19, 1766 – August 9, 1829 (aged 63) |
March 3, 1803 – March 4, 1807 (resigned) |
Democratic- Republican |
1803 | Office did not exist | |||
1805 | ||||||||
2 | Thomas Kirker 1760 – February 19, 1837 (aged 66 or 67) |
March 4, 1807 – December 12, 1808 (lost election) |
Democratic- Republican |
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3 | Samuel Huntington October 4, 1765 – June 8, 1817 (aged 51) |
December 12, 1808 – December 8, 1810 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic- Republican |
1808 |
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4 | Return J. Meigs Jr. November 17, 1764 – January 28, 1823 (aged 58) |
December 8, 1810 – March 24, 1814 (resigned) |
Democratic- Republican |
1810 | ||||
1812 | ||||||||
5 | Othniel Looker October 4, 1757 – July 23, 1845 (aged 87) |
March 24, 1814 – December 8, 1814 (lost election) |
Democratic- Republican |
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6 | Thomas Worthington July 16, 1773 – June 20, 1827 (aged 53) |
December 8, 1814 – December 14, 1818 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic- Republican |
1814 | ||||
1816 | ||||||||
7 | Ethan Allen Brown July 4, 1776 – February 24, 1852 (aged 75) |
December 14, 1818 – January 4, 1822 (resigned) |
Democratic- Republican |
1818 | ||||
1820 | ||||||||
8 | Allen Trimble November 24, 1783 – February 3, 1870 (aged 86) |
January 4, 1822 – December 28, 1822 (lost election) |
Democratic- Republican |
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9 | Jeremiah Morrow October 6, 1771 – March 22, 1852 (aged 80) |
December 28, 1822 – December 19, 1826 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic- Republican |
1822 | ||||
1824 | ||||||||
10 | Allen Trimble November 24, 1783 – February 3, 1870 (aged 86) |
December 19, 1826 – December 18, 1830 (not candidate for election) |
National Republican |
1826 | ||||
1828 | ||||||||
11 | Duncan McArthur January 14, 1772 – April 29, 1839 (aged 67) |
December 18, 1830 – December 7, 1832 (not candidate for election) |
National Republican |
1830 | ||||
12 | Robert Lucas April 1, 1781 – February 7, 1853 (aged 71) |
December 7, 1832 – December 12, 1836 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1832 | ||||
1834 | ||||||||
13 | Joseph Vance March 21, 1786 – August 24, 1852 (aged 66) |
December 12, 1836 – December 13, 1838 (lost election) |
Whig | 1836 | ||||
14 | Wilson Shannon February 24, 1802 – August 30, 1877 (aged 75) |
December 13, 1838 – December 16, 1840 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1838 | ||||
15 |
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Thomas Corwin July 29, 1794 – December 18, 1865 (aged 71) |
December 16, 1840 – December 14, 1842 (lost election) |
Whig | 1840 | |||
16 | Wilson Shannon February 24, 1802 – August 30, 1877 (aged 75) |
December 14, 1842 – April 15, 1844 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1842 | ||||
17 | Thomas W. Bartley February 11, 1812 – June 20, 1885 (aged 73) |
April 15, 1844 – December 3, 1844 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | |||||
18 | Mordecai Bartley December 16, 1783 – October 10, 1870 (aged 86) |
December 3, 1844 – December 12, 1846 (not candidate for election) |
Whig | 1844 | ||||
19 | William Bebb December 8, 1802 – October 23, 1873 (aged 70) |
December 12, 1846 – January 22, 1849 (not candidate for election) |
Whig | 1846 |
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20 | Seabury Ford October 5, 1801 – May 8, 1855 (aged 53) |
January 22, 1849 – December 12, 1850 (not candidate for election) |
Whig | 1848 |
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21 | Reuben Wood 1792 or 1793 – October 1, 1864 (aged 71 or 72) |
December 12, 1850 – July 13, 1853 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1850 |
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1851 | William Medill | |||||||
22 | William Medill February 1802 –September 2, 1865 (aged 63) |
July 13, 1853 – January 14, 1856 (lost election) |
Democratic | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Vacant | |||
1853 | James Myers | |||||||
23 | Salmon P. Chase January 13, 1808 – May 7, 1873 (aged 65) |
January 14, 1856 – January 9, 1860 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1855 | Thomas H. Ford | |||
1857 | Martin Welker | |||||||
24 | William Dennison Jr. November 23, 1815 – June 15, 1882 (aged 66) |
January 9, 1860 – January 13, 1862 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1859 | Robert C. Kirk | |||
25 | David Tod February 21, 1805 – November 13, 1868 (aged 63) |
January 13, 1862 – January 11, 1864 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1861 | Benjamin Stanton | |||
26 | John Brough September 17, 1811 – August 29, 1865 (aged 53) |
January 11, 1864 – August 29, 1865 (died) |
Unionist | 1863 | Charles Anderson | |||
27 | Charles Anderson June 1, 1814 – September 2, 1895 (aged 81) |
August 29, 1865 – January 8, 1866 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Vacant | |||
28 | Jacob Dolson Cox October 27, 1828 – August 4, 1900 (aged 71) |
January 8, 1866 – January 13, 1868 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1865 | Andrew McBurney | |||
29 | Rutherford B. Hayes October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893 (aged 70) |
January 13, 1868 – January 8, 1872 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1867 | John C. Lee | |||
1869 | ||||||||
30 | Edward Follansbee Noyes October 3, 1832 – September 4, 1890 (aged 57) |
January 8, 1872 – January 12, 1874 (lost election) |
Republican | 1871 | Jacob Mueller | |||
31 | William Allen December 18 or 27, 1803 – July 11, 1879 (aged 75) |
January 12, 1874 – January 10, 1876 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1873 | Alphonso Hart | |||
32 | Rutherford B. Hayes October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893 (aged 70) |
January 10, 1876 – March 2, 1877 (resigned) |
Republican | 1875 | Thomas L. Young | |||
33 | Thomas L. Young December 14, 1832 – July 20, 1888 (aged 55) |
March 2, 1877 – January 14, 1878 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
H. W. Curtiss (acting) |
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34 | Richard M. Bishop November 4, 1812 – March 2, 1893 (aged 80) |
January 14, 1878 – January 12, 1880 (lost renomination) |
Democratic | 1877 | Jabez W. Fitch | |||
35 | Charles Foster April 12, 1828 – January 9, 1904 (aged 75) |
January 12, 1880 – January 14, 1884 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1879 | Andrew Hickenlooper | |||
1881 | Rees G. Richards | |||||||
36 | George Hoadly July 31, 1826 – August 26, 1902 (aged 76) |
January 14, 1884 – January 11, 1886 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1883 | John G. Warwick | |||
37 | Joseph B. Foraker July 5, 1846 – May 10, 1917 (aged 70) |
January 11, 1886 – January 13, 1890 (lost election) |
Republican | 1885 | Robert P. Kennedy (resigned March 3, 1887) |
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Silas A. Conrad | ||||||||
1887 | William C. Lyon | |||||||
38 | James E. Campbell July 7, 1843 – December 18, 1924 (aged 81) |
January 13, 1890 – January 11, 1892 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1889 | Elbert L. Lampson (replaced January 31, 1890) |
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William V. Marquis | ||||||||
39 | William McKinley January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901 (aged 58) |
January 11, 1892 – January 13, 1896 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1891 | Andrew L. Harris | |||
1893 | ||||||||
40 | Asa S. Bushnell September 16, 1834 – January 15, 1904 (aged 69) |
January 13, 1896 – January 8, 1900 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1895 | Asa W. Jones | |||
1897 | ||||||||
41 | George K. Nash August 14, 1842 – October 28, 1904 (aged 62) |
January 8, 1900 – January 11, 1904 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1899 | John A. Caldwell | |||
1901 | Carl L. Nippert (resigned May 1, 1902) |
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Harry L. Gordon | ||||||||
42 | Myron T. Herrick October 9, 1854 – March 31, 1929 (aged 74) |
January 11, 1904 – January 8, 1906 (lost election) |
Republican | 1903 | Warren G. Harding | |||
43 | John M. Pattison June 13, 1847 – June 18, 1906 (aged 59) |
January 8, 1906 – June 18, 1906 (died) |
Democratic | 1905 |
Andrew L. Harris | |||
44 | Andrew L. Harris November 17, 1835 – September 13, 1915 (aged 79) |
June 18, 1906 – January 11, 1909 (lost election) |
Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Vacant | |||
45 | Judson Harmon February 3, 1846 – February 22, 1927 (aged 81) |
January 11, 1909 – January 13, 1913 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1908 | Francis W. Treadway | |||
1910 | Atlee Pomerene (resigned March 4, 1911) |
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Hugh L. Nichols | ||||||||
46 | James M. Cox March 31, 1870 – July 15, 1957 (aged 87) |
January 13, 1913 – January 11, 1915 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1912 | W. A. Greenlund | |||
47 | Frank B. Willis December 28, 1871 – March 30, 1928 (aged 56) |
January 11, 1915 – January 8, 1917 (lost election) |
Republican | 1914 | John H. Arnold | |||
48 | James M. Cox March 31, 1870 – July 15, 1957 (aged 87) |
January 8, 1917 – January 10, 1921 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1916 | Earl D. Bloom | |||
1918 | Clarence J. Brown | |||||||
49 | Harry L. Davis January 25, 1878 – May 21, 1950 (aged 72) |
January 10, 1921 – January 8, 1923 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1920 | ||||
50 | A. Victor Donahey July 7, 1873 – April 8, 1946 (aged 72) |
January 8, 1923 – January 14, 1929 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1922 | Earl D. Bloom | |||
1924 | Charles H. Lewis | |||||||
1926 | Earl D. Bloom (resigned April 1928) |
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William G. Pickrel (term ended November 1928) |
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George C. Braden | ||||||||
51 | Myers Y. Cooper November 25, 1873 – December 6, 1958 (aged 85) |
January 14, 1929 – January 12, 1931 (lost election) |
Republican | 1928 | John T. Brown | |||
52 | George White April 21, 1872 – December 15, 1953 (aged 81) |
January 12, 1931 – January 14, 1935 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1930 | William G. Pickrel | |||
1932 | Charles W. Sawyer | |||||||
53 | Martin L. Davey July 25, 1884 – March 31, 1946 (aged 61) |
January 14, 1935 – January 9, 1939 (lost renomination) |
Democratic | 1934 | Harold G. Mosier | |||
1936 | Paul P. Yoder | |||||||
54 | John W. Bricker September 6, 1893 – March 22, 1986 (aged 92) |
January 9, 1939 – January 8, 1945 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1938 | Paul M. Herbert | |||
1940 | ||||||||
1942 | ||||||||
55 | Frank Lausche November 14, 1895 – April 21, 1990 (aged 94) |
January 8, 1945 – January 13, 1947 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1944 | George D. Nye | |||
56 | Thomas J. Herbert October 28, 1894 – October 26, 1974 (aged 79) |
January 13, 1947 – January 10, 1949 (lost election) |
Republican | 1946 | Paul M. Herbert | |||
57 | Frank Lausche November 14, 1895 – April 21, 1990 (aged 94) |
January 10, 1949 – January 3, 1957 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1948 | George D. Nye | |||
1950 | ||||||||
1952 | John William Brown | |||||||
1954 | ||||||||
58 | John William Brown December 28, 1913 – October 29, 1993 (aged 79) |
January 3, 1957 – January 14, 1957 (successor took office) |
Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Vacant | |||
59 | C. William O'Neill February 14, 1916 – August 20, 1978 (aged 62) |
January 14, 1957 – January 12, 1959 (lost election) |
Republican | 1956 | Paul M. Herbert | |||
60 | Michael DiSalle January 6, 1908 – September 16, 1981 (aged 73) |
January 12, 1959 – January 14, 1963 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1958 |
John W. Donahey | |||
61 |
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Jim Rhodes September 13, 1909 – March 4, 2001 (aged 91) |
January 14, 1963 – January 11, 1971 (term limited) |
Republican | 1962 | John William Brown | ||
1966 | ||||||||
62 | John J. Gilligan March 22, 1921 – August 26, 2013 (aged 92) |
January 11, 1971 – January 13, 1975 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1970 | ||||
63 |
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Jim Rhodes September 13, 1909 – March 4, 2001 (aged 91) |
January 13, 1975 – January 10, 1983 (term limited) |
Republican | 1974 | Dick Celeste | ||
1978 | George Voinovich (resigned November 1979) |
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Vacant | ||||||||
64 | Dick Celeste November 11, 1937 |
January 10, 1983 – January 14, 1991 (term limited) |
Democratic | 1982 | Myrl Shoemaker (died July 30, 1985) |
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Vacant | ||||||||
1986 | Paul Leonard | |||||||
65 | George Voinovich July 15, 1936 – June 12, 2016 (aged 79) |
January 14, 1991 – December 31, 1998 (resigned) |
Republican | 1990 | Mike DeWine (resigned November 12, 1994) |
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Vacant | ||||||||
1994 | Nancy Hollister | |||||||
66 | Nancy Hollister May 22, 1949 |
December 31, 1998 – January 11, 1999 (successor took office) |
Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Vacant | |||
67 | Bob Taft January 8, 1942 |
January 11, 1999 – January 8, 2007 (term limited) |
Republican | 1998 | Maureen O'Connor (resigned December 31, 2002) |
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Vacant | ||||||||
2002 | Jennette Bradley (resigned January 5, 2005) |
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Bruce Johnson (resigned December 8, 2006) |
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Vacant | ||||||||
68 | Ted Strickland August 4, 1941 |
January 8, 2007 – January 10, 2011 (lost election) |
Democratic | 2006 | Lee Fisher | |||
69 | John Kasich May 13, 1952 |
January 10, 2011 – January 14, 2019 (term limited) |
Republican | 2010 | Mary Taylor | |||
2014 | ||||||||
70 | Mike DeWine January 5, 1947 |
January 14, 2019 – Incumbent |
Republican | 2018 | Jon A. Husted | |||
2022 |
Living former governors of Ohio
As of 19 March 2024, there are five living former governors of Ohio, the oldest being Dick Celeste (served 1983–1991, born 1937). The most recent and most recently serving former Governor of Ohio to die was George Voinovich (served 1991–1998, born 1936) on June 12, 2016, aged 79.
Governor | Gubernatorial term | Date of birth (and age) |
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Dick Celeste | 1983–1991 | November 11, 1937 |
Ted Strickland | 2007–2011 | August 4, 1941 |
Bob Taft | 1999–2007 | January 8, 1942 |
Nancy Hollister | 1998–1999 | May 22, 1949 |
John Kasich | 2011–2019 | May 13, 1952 |
See also
- Ohio gubernatorial elections
- List of Ohio state legislatures