List of governors of West Virginia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Governor of West Virginia |
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Seal of the Governor
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Style |
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Residence | West Virginia Governor's Mansion |
Term length | Four years, renewable once consecutively |
Inaugural holder | Arthur I. Boreman |
Formation | June 20, 1863 |
Salary | $150,000 (2013) |
The governor of West Virginia is the head of government of West Virginia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the West Virginia Legislature, to convene the legislature at any time, and, except when prosecution has been carried out by the House of Delegates, to grant pardons and reprieves.
Since West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, during the American Civil War, 34 men have served as governor. Two, Arch A. Moore Jr. (West Virginia's 28th and 30th governors) and Cecil H. Underwood (West Virginia's 25th and 32nd governors), served two nonconsecutive stints in office. The longest-serving governor was Moore, who served for three terms over twelve years. The state's first governor after admission into the Union, Arthur I. Boreman, served the most consecutive terms, resigning a week before the end of his third term. Before the state's admission, Francis H. Pierpont, the, "Father of West Virginia," was elected governor during the Wheeling Convention of 1861. Daniel D.T. Farnsworth was senate president at the time; he filled the last seven days of Boreman's term and remains the shortest-serving governor. Underwood has the unusual distinction of being both the youngest person to be elected as governor (age 34 upon his first term in 1957) and the oldest to both be elected and serve (age 74 upon his second term in 1997; age 78 at the end of his second term in 2001).
The current governor is Republican Jim Justice, who assumed office on January 16, 2017. West Virginia's 36th governor, Justice was elected as a Democrat, but switched to the Republican Party on August 4 of that year.
To serve as governor, a person must be at least 30 years old, and must have been a citizen of West Virginia for at least five years at the time of inauguration. Under the current Constitution of West Virginia, ratified in 1872, the governor serves a four-year term commencing on the Monday after the second Wednesday in the January following an election. The original constitution of 1863 only called for a two-year term. He may be reelected any number of times, but not more than twice in a row. Any partial term served counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms.
The constitution makes no mention of a lieutenant governor; if the governorship becomes vacant, the senate president acts as governor. If more than one year remains in the governor's term at the time of vacancy, a new election is held; otherwise, the senate president acts as governor for the remainder of the term. A bill passed in 2000 grants the senate president the honorary title of lieutenant governor, but this title is rarely used in practice and the terms of the senate president do not correspond with governorships. The same bill states that the line of succession after the senate president will be the speaker of the House of Delegates, followed by the state attorney general, the state auditor and former governors, in inverse order of term, that are in residence in the state at the time of the vacancy.
Qualifications
Anyone who seeks to be elected Governor of West Virginia must meet the following qualifications:
- Be a citizen of the United States
- Be a resident of West Virginia for at least five years preceding the election
- Be a duly qualified elector of West Virginia
- Be at least 30 years old
List of governors
The following list is based on that contained in the West Virginia Blue Book, the official guide to West Virginia state government.
Democratic (19) People's Independent (1) Republican (16)
# | Governor | Party | Term in office | Time in office | Election | ||
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1 | Arthur I. Boreman July 24, 1823 – April 19, 1896 (aged 72) |
Republican | June 20, 1863 – February 26, 1869 |
5 years, 8 months | 1863 | ||
1864 | |||||||
1866 | |||||||
2 | Daniel D. T. Farnsworth December 23, 1819 – December 5, 1892 (aged 72) |
Republican | February 26, 1869 – March 4, 1869 |
6 days | President of the Senate acting as Governor |
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3 | William E. Stevenson March 18, 1820 – November 29, 1883 (aged 63) |
Republican | March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1871 |
2 years | 1868 | ||
4 | John J. Jacob December 9, 1829 – November 24, 1893 (aged 63) |
Democratic | March 4, 1871 – March 4, 1877 |
6 years | 1870 | ||
Independent | 1872 |
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5 | Henry M. Mathews March 29, 1834 – April 28, 1884 (aged 50) |
Democratic | March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881 |
4 years | 1876 | ||
6 | Jacob B. Jackson April 6, 1829 – December 11, 1893 (aged 64) |
Democratic | March 4, 1881 – March 4, 1885 |
4 years | 1880 | ||
7 | Emanuel Willis Wilson August 11, 1844 – May 28, 1905 (aged 60) |
Democratic | March 4, 1885 – February 6, 1890 |
4 years, 11 months | 1884 | ||
8 | Aretas B. Fleming October 15, 1839 – October 13, 1923 (aged 83) |
Democratic | February 6, 1890 – March 4, 1893 |
3 years, 1 months | 1888 | ||
9 | William A. MacCorkle May 7, 1857 – September 24, 1930 (aged 73) |
Democratic | March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897 |
4 years | 1892 | ||
10 | George W. Atkinson June 29, 1845 – April 4, 1925 (aged 79) |
Republican | March 4, 1897 – March 4, 1901 |
4 years | 1896 | ||
11 | Albert B. White September 22, 1856 – July 3, 1941 (aged 85) |
Republican | March 4, 1901 – March 4, 1905 |
4 years | 1900 | ||
12 | William M. O. Dawson May 21, 1853 – March 12, 1916 (aged 62) |
Republican | March 4, 1905 – March 4, 1909 |
4 years | 1904 | ||
13 | William E. Glasscock December 13, 1862 – April 12, 1925 (aged 62) |
Republican | March 4, 1909 – March 14, 1913 |
4 years | 1908 | ||
14 | Henry D. Hatfield September 15, 1875 – October 23, 1962 (aged 87) |
Republican | March 14, 1913 – March 5, 1917 |
4 years | 1912 | ||
15 | John J. Cornwell July 11, 1867 – September 8, 1953 (aged 86) |
Democratic | March 5, 1917 – March 4, 1921 |
4 years | 1916 | ||
16 | Ephraim F. Morgan January 16, 1869 – January 15, 1950 (aged 80) |
Republican | March 4, 1921 – March 4, 1925 |
4 years | 1920 | ||
17 | Howard Mason Gore October 12, 1877 – June 20, 1947 (aged 69) |
Republican | March 4, 1925 – March 4, 1929 |
4 years | 1924 | ||
18 | William G. Conley January 8, 1866 – October 21, 1940 (aged 74) |
Republican | March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933 |
4 years | 1928 | ||
19 | Herman G. Kump October 31, 1877 – February 14, 1962 (aged 84) |
Democratic | March 4, 1933 – January 18, 1937 |
3 years, 10 months | 1932 | ||
20 | Homer A. Holt March 1, 1898 – January 16, 1975 (aged 76) |
Democratic | January 18, 1937 – January 13, 1941 |
4 years | 1936 | ||
21 | Matthew M. Neely November 9, 1874 – January 18, 1958 (aged 83) |
Democratic | January 13, 1941 – January 15, 1945 |
4 years | 1940 | ||
22 | Clarence W. Meadows February 11, 1904 – September 12, 1961 (aged 57) |
Democratic | January 15, 1945 – January 17, 1949 |
4 years | 1944 | ||
23 | Okey Patteson September 14, 1898 – July 3, 1989 (aged 90) |
Democratic | January 17, 1949 – January 19, 1953 |
4 years | 1948 | ||
24 | William C. Marland March 26, 1918 – November 26, 1965 (aged 47) |
Democratic | January 19, 1953 – January 14, 1957 |
4 years | 1952 | ||
25 | Cecil H. Underwood November 5, 1922 – November 24, 2008 (aged 86) |
Republican | January 14, 1957 – January 16, 1961 |
4 years | 1956 | ||
26 | William Wallace Barron December 8, 1911 – November 12, 2002 (aged 90) |
Democratic | January 16, 1961 – January 18, 1965 |
4 years | 1960 | ||
27 | Hulett C. Smith October 21, 1918 – January 15, 2012 (aged 93) |
Democratic | January 18, 1965 – January 13, 1969 |
4 years | 1964 | ||
28 | Arch A. Moore Jr. April 16, 1923 – January 7, 2015 (aged 91) |
Republican | January 13, 1969 – January 17, 1977 |
8 years | 1968 | ||
1972 | |||||||
29 | Jay Rockefeller June 18, 1937 |
Democratic | January 17, 1977 – January 14, 1985 |
8 years | 1976 | ||
1980 | |||||||
30 | Arch A. Moore Jr. April 16, 1923 – January 7, 2015 (aged 91) |
Republican | January 14, 1985 – January 16, 1989 |
4 years | 1984 | ||
31 | Gaston Caperton February 21, 1940 |
Democratic | January 16, 1989 – January 13, 1997 |
8 years | 1988 | ||
1992 | |||||||
32 | Cecil H. Underwood November 5, 1922 – November 24, 2008 (aged 86) |
Republican | January 13, 1997 – January 15, 2001 |
4 years | 1996 | ||
33 | Bob Wise January 6, 1948 |
Democratic | January 15, 2001 – January 17, 2005 |
4 years | 2000 | ||
34 | Joe Manchin August 24, 1947 |
Democratic | January 17, 2005 – November 15, 2010 |
5 years, 10 months | 2004 | ||
2008 | |||||||
35 | Earl Ray Tomblin March 15, 1952 |
Democratic | November 15, 2010 – November 13, 2011 |
1 year | President of the Senate acting as Governor |
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November 13, 2011 – January 16, 2017 |
5 years, 2 months | 2011§ | |||||
2012 | |||||||
36 | Jim Justice April 27, 1951 |
Democratic |
January 16, 2017 – Incumbent |
7 years, 63 days | 2016 | ||
Republican |
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2020 |