List of governors of Washington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Governor of Washington |
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Seal of the Governor
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Style |
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Residence | Washington Governor's Mansion |
Term length | Four years, no term limit |
Inaugural holder | Elisha P. Ferry |
Formation | November 11, 1889 |
Deputy | Lieutenant Governor of Washington |
Salary | $182,179 (2019) |
The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Washington Legislature and line-item veto power to cancel specific provisions in spending bills. The Washington governor may also convene the legislature on "extraordinary occasions".
Washington Territory had 14 territorial governors from its organization in 1853 until the formation of the state of Washington in 1889. Territorial governors were appointed by the president of the United States. Elisha P. Ferry had the longest term of eight years and went on to become the state's first governor. William H. Wallace was appointed governor but never took office due to being elected as the territory's congressional delegate. George Edward Cole was appointed governor and took office, but his appointment was never ratified by the U.S. Senate and he was replaced as governor after four months.
Twenty-two individuals have held the office of Governor of Washington since the state's admission to the Union, with Arthur B. Langlie serving non-consecutive terms. Populist Party candidate John Rankin Rogers is the only non-Democratic or Republican nominee to win office. The most recent governor to be from Eastern Washington was Clarence Martin, elected in 1932. The current governor is Democrat Jay Inslee, who took office on January 16, 2013, and was reelected in 2016 and 2020; his term will expire on January 15, 2025. Washington has had the longest current streak of Democratic governors in the nation, with the last Republican to hold the office being John Spellman in 1985.
With the re-election of Inslee in 2020, Langlie, Daniel J. Evans and Inslee are the only three Washington governors to be elected to three terms.
Contents
Governors
Governors of the Territory of Washington
Washington Territory was created on March 2, 1853, from the northern half of Oregon Territory. At this point, Washington Territory also included the northern panhandle of modern Idaho and parts of Montana. The southern half of Idaho was assigned to the Washington Territory in 1859 after Oregon was admitted as a state. Idaho Territory was split from Washington Territory in 1863 giving Washington Territory its final borders.
Due to the long distance between Washington, D.C., and Olympia, there was often a lengthy gap between a governor being appointed and his arrival in the territory.
Governor | Took office | Left office | Appointed by | Notes | ||
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Isaac Stevens | December 3, 1853 | August 11, 1857 | Franklin Pierce | |||
Fayette McMullen | September 10, 1857 | July 1858 | James Buchanan | |||
Richard D. Gholson | July 15, 1859 | February 14, 1861 | ||||
William H. Wallace | Appointed April 9, 1861 | — | Abraham Lincoln | |||
William Pickering | June 1862 | January 8, 1867 | ||||
George Edward Cole | January 8, 1867 | March 4, 1867 | Andrew Johnson | |||
Marshall F. Moore | August 26, 1867 | April 5, 1869 | ||||
Alvan Flanders | April 5, 1869 | March 14, 1870 | Ulysses S. Grant | |||
Edward S. Salomon | Appointed March 4, 1870 | April 1872 | ||||
Elisha P. Ferry | Appointed April 26, 1872 | November 1, 1880 | ||||
William A. Newell | November 1, 1880 | July 2, 1884 | Rutherford B. Hayes | |||
Watson C. Squire | Appointed July 2, 1884 | April 9, 1887 | Chester A. Arthur | |||
Eugene Semple | Appointed April 9, 1887 | April 9, 1889 | Grover Cleveland | |||
Miles Conway Moore | April 9, 1889 | November 11, 1889 | Benjamin Harrison |
Governors of the State of Washington
Washington was admitted to the Union on November 11, 1889. The term for governor is four years, commencing on the second Monday in the January following the election. If the office of governor is vacant or the governor is unable to discharge their duties, the lieutenant governor assumes the duties of governor, though still officially retains the office of lieutenant governor. If both the offices of governor and lieutenant governor are unable to fulfill their duties, the secretary of state is next in line, and then the treasurer. There is no limit to the number of terms a governor may serve. The office of lieutenant governor is not elected on the same ticket as the governor.
Democratic (11) Populist (1) Republican (12)
(above numbering includes one governor twice)
# | Governor | Took office | Left office | Office Prior to Ascension | Party | Election | Terms | ||
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1 | Elisha P. Ferry August 9, 1825 – October 14, 1895 (aged 70) |
November 11, 1889 | January 11, 1893 | 10th Governor of the Washington Territory | Republican | 1889 | 1 | ||
2 | John McGraw October 4, 1850 – June 23, 1910 (aged 59) |
January 11, 1893 | January 13, 1897 | King County Sheriff | 1892 | 1 | |||
3 | John Rankin Rogers September 4, 1838 – December 26, 1901 (aged 63) |
January 13, 1897 | December 26, 1901 | Washington House of Representatives | Populist | 1896 | 1+1⁄2 | ||
Democratic | 1900 | ||||||||
4 | Henry McBride February 7, 1856 – October 7, 1937 (aged 81) |
December 26, 1901 | January 11, 1905 | Lieutenant Governor of Washington | Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
1⁄2 | ||
5 | Albert E. Mead December 14, 1861 – March 19, 1913 (aged 51) |
January 11, 1905 | January 27, 1909 | Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney | 1904 | 1 | |||
6 | Samuel G. Cosgrove April 10, 1847 – March 28, 1909 (aged 61) |
January 27, 1909 | March 28, 1909 | Mayor of Pomeroy | 1908 | 1⁄2 | |||
7 | Marion E. Hay December 9, 1865 – November 21, 1933 (aged 67) |
March 28, 1909 | January 15, 1913 | Lieutenant Governor of Washington | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
1⁄2 | |||
8 | Ernest Lister June 15, 1870 – June 14, 1919 (aged 48) |
January 15, 1913 | February 13, 1919 | Chairman of the State Board of Control | Democratic | 1912 | 1+1⁄2 | ||
1916 | |||||||||
9 | Louis F. Hart January 4, 1862 – December 4, 1929 (aged 67) |
February 13, 1919 | January 14, 1925 | Lieutenant Governor of Washington | Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
1+1⁄2 | ||
1920 | |||||||||
10 | Roland H. Hartley June 26, 1864 – September 21, 1952 (aged 88) |
January 14, 1925 | January 11, 1933 | Washington House of Representatives | 1924 | 2 | |||
1928 | |||||||||
11 | Clarence D. Martin June 29, 1886 – August 11, 1955 (aged 69) |
January 11, 1933 | January 15, 1941 | Mayor of Cheney | Democratic | 1932 | 2 | ||
1936 | |||||||||
12 | Arthur B. Langlie July 25, 1900 – July 24, 1966 (aged 65) |
January 15, 1941 | January 10, 1945 | Mayor of Seattle | Republican | 1940 | 1 | ||
13 | Monrad Wallgren April 17, 1891 – September 18, 1961 (aged 70) |
January 10, 1945 | January 12, 1949 | U.S. Senator from Washington | Democratic | 1944 | 1 | ||
14 | Arthur B. Langlie July 25, 1900 – July 24, 1966 (aged 65) |
January 12, 1949 | January 16, 1957 | 12th Governor of Washington | Republican | 1948 | 2 | ||
1952 | |||||||||
15 | Albert Rosellini January 21, 1910 – October 10, 2011 (aged 101) |
January 16, 1957 | January 13, 1965 | Washington State Senate | Democratic | 1956 | 2 | ||
1960 | |||||||||
16 | Daniel J. Evans October 16, 1925 |
January 13, 1965 | January 12, 1977 | Washington House of Representatives | Republican | 1964 | 3 | ||
1968 | |||||||||
1972 | |||||||||
17 | Dixy Lee Ray September 3, 1914 – January 2, 1994 (aged 79) |
January 12, 1977 | January 14, 1981 | Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs | Democratic | 1976 | 1 | ||
18 | John Spellman December 29, 1926 – January 15, 2018 (aged 91) |
January 14, 1981 | January 16, 1985 | King County Executive | Republican | 1980 | 1 | ||
19 | Booth Gardner August 21, 1936 – March 15, 2013 (aged 76) |
January 16, 1985 | January 13, 1993 | Pierce County Executive | Democratic | 1984 | 2 | ||
1988 | |||||||||
20 | Mike Lowry March 8, 1939 – May 1, 2017 (aged 78) |
January 13, 1993 | January 15, 1997 | U.S. Representative from WA-7th | 1992 | 1 | |||
21 | Gary Locke January 21, 1950 |
January 15, 1997 | January 12, 2005 | King County Executive | 1996 | 2 | |||
2000 | |||||||||
22 | Christine Gregoire March 24, 1947 |
January 12, 2005 | January 16, 2013 | Attorney General of Washington | 2004 | 2 | |||
2008 | |||||||||
23 | Jay Inslee February 9, 1951 |
January 16, 2013 | Incumbent | U.S. Representative from WA-01 | 2012 | 3 | |||
2016 | |||||||||
2020 |
Succession
See also
- List of Washington state legislatures