List of governors of Arizona facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Governor of Arizona
Flag of Arizona
Seal of Arizona
Incumbent Katie Hobbs since January 2, 2023
Government of Arizona
Style	The Honorable
Residence	No official residence
Term length	Four years, renewable once consecutively
Constituting instrument	Arizona Constitution, article V
Inaugural holder	George W. P. Hunt
Formation	February 14, 1912
Deputy	None (Lieutenant expected to be elected in 2026)
Salary	$95,000 (2013)

The governor of Arizona is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arizona. As the top elected official, the governor is the head of the executive branch of the Arizona state government and is charged with faithfully executing state laws. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Arizona State Legislature; to convene the legislature; and to grant pardons, with the exception of cases of impeachment. The governor is also the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.

Twenty-four people have served as governor over 28 distinct terms. All of the repeat governors were in the state's earliest years, when George W. P. Hunt and Thomas Edward Campbell alternated as governor for 17 years and, after a two-year gap, Hunt served another term. One governor, Evan Mecham, was successfully impeached, and one, Fife Symington, resigned upon being convicted of a felony. The longest-serving governor was Hunt, who was elected seven times and served just under fourteen years. The longest single stint was that of Bruce Babbitt, who was elected to two four-year terms after succeeding to the office following the death of his predecessor, Wesley Bolin, serving nearly nine years total. Bolin had the shortest tenure, dying less than five months after succeeding as governor. Arizona has had five female governors, the most in the United States, and was the first—and until 2019 (when Michelle Lujan Grisham succeeded Susana Martinez in neighboring New Mexico) the only—state where female governors served consecutively.

The current governor as of January 2, 2023, is Democrat Katie Hobbs.

List of governors

Confederate Arizona

In Tucson between April 2 and April 5, 1860, a convention of settlers from the southern half of New Mexico Territory drafted a provisional constitution for "Arizona Territory", three years before the United States would create such a territory. This proposed territory consisted of the part of New Mexico Territory south of 33° 40' north. On April 2, they elected a governor, Lewis S. Owings. The provisional territory was to exist until such time as an official territory was created, but that proposal was rejected by Congress at the time.

On March 16, 1861, soon before the American Civil War broke out, a convention in Mesilla voted that the provisional territory should secede from the Union and join the Confederacy. Lewis S. Owings remained on as the provisional governor of the territory.

The Confederacy took ownership of the territory on August 1, 1861, when forces led by Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor won decisive control of the territory, and Baylor proclaimed himself governor. Arizona Territory was formally organized in the Confederacy on January 18, 1862. On March 20, 1862, Baylor issued an order to kill all the adult Apache and take their children into slavery. When Confederate President Jefferson Davis learned of this order, he strongly disapproved and demanded an explanation. Baylor wrote a letter December 29, 1862, to justify his decision, and after this was received, Davis relieved Baylor of his post and commission, calling his letter an "avowal of an infamous crime". By that time, the Confederate government of Arizona Territory was in exile in San Antonio, Texas, as the territory had been effectively lost to Union forces in July 1862; no new governor was appointed.

Territory of Arizona

Arizona Territory was formed on February 24, 1863, from New Mexico Territory, remaining a territory for 49 years.

Governors of the Territory of Arizona

No.	Governor		Term in office	Appointing President
—		John A. Gurley (1813–1863)	March 10, 1863 – August 19, 1863 (died before taking office)	Lincoln, AbrahamAbraham Lincoln
1		John Noble Goodwin (1824–1887)	August 21, 1863 – April 10, 1866 (resigned)	Lincoln, AbrahamAbraham Lincoln
2		Richard Cunningham McCormick (1832–1901)	April 10, 1866 – March 4, 1869 (resigned)	Johnson, AndrewAndrew Johnson
3		Anson P. K. Safford (1830–1891)	April 8, 1869 – April 5, 1877 (term expired)	Grant, Ulysses S.Ulysses S. Grant
4		John Philo Hoyt (1841–1926)	April 5, 1877 – June 14, 1878 (resigned)	Hayes, Rutherford B.Rutherford B. Hayes
5		John C. Frémont (1813–1890)	June 14, 1878 – October 11, 1881 (resigned)	Hayes, Rutherford B.Rutherford B. Hayes
6		Frederick Augustus Tritle (1833–1906)	February 6, 1882 – October 7, 1885 (resigned)	Arthur, Chester A.Chester A. Arthur
7		C. Meyer Zulick (1839–1926)	October 15, 1885 – March 28, 1889 (successor appointed)	Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland
8		Lewis Wolfley (1839–1910)	March 28, 1889 – August 20, 1890 (resigned)	Harrison, BenjaminBenjamin Harrison
9		John N. Irwin (1844–1905)	October 1, 1890 – April 19, 1892 (resigned)	Harrison, BenjaminBenjamin Harrison
10		Oakes Murphy (1849–1908)	May 9, 1892 – April 13, 1893 (successor appointed)	Harrison, BenjaminBenjamin Harrison
11		L. C. Hughes (1842–1915)	April 8, 1893 – April 1, 1896 (successor appointed)	Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland
12		Benjamin Joseph Franklin (1839–1898)	April 8, 1896 – July 22, 1897 (resigned)	Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland
13		Myron H. McCord (1840–1908)	July 17, 1897 – August 1, 1898 (resigned)	McKinley, WilliamWilliam McKinley
14		Oakes Murphy (1849–1908)	July 16, 1898 – July 1, 1902 (resigned)	McKinley, WilliamWilliam McKinley
15		Alexander Oswald Brodie (1849–1918)	May 14, 1902 – February 14, 1905 (resigned)	Roosevelt, TheodoreTheodore Roosevelt
16		Joseph Henry Kibbey (1853–1924)	February 27, 1905 – April 15, 1909 (successor appointed)	Roosevelt, TheodoreTheodore Roosevelt
17		Richard Elihu Sloan (1857–1933)	April 15, 1909 – February 14, 1912 (statehood)	Taft, William HowardWilliam Howard Taft

State of Arizona

The state of Arizona was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1912, the last of the contiguous states to be admitted.

The state constitution of 1912 called for the election of a governor every two years. The term was increased to four years by a 1968 amendment. The constitution originally included no term limit, but an amendment passed in 1992 allows governors to succeed themselves only once; before this, four governors were elected more than twice in a row. Gubernatorial terms begin on the first Monday in the January following the election. Governors who have served the two term limit can run again after four years out of office.

Arizona is one of the few states which does not have a lieutenant governor. Instead, in the event of a vacancy in the office of governor, the secretary of state, if elected, succeeds to the office. If the secretary of state was appointed rather than elected, or is otherwise ineligible to hold the office of governor, the next elected and eligible person in the line of succession assumes the office. The state constitution specifies the line of succession to be the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer and Superintendent of Public Instruction, in that order. If the governor is out of the state or impeached, the next elected officer in the line of succession becomes acting governor until the governor returns or is cleared. In either case, any partial term counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms.

The line of succession has reached beyond the secretary of state only once, when Attorney General Bruce Babbitt became governor upon the death of Wesley Bolin. Rose Mofford had been appointed secretary of state to replace Bolin after Bolin succeeded to the governorship. Bolin had become governor when Raúl Héctor Castro resigned to accept appointment as ambassador to Argentina. Mofford later became acting governor after Evan Mecham was impeached by the House of Representatives, and succeeded to the governorship when Mecham was removed from office after his conviction by the Senate.

Starting with the 2026 election cycle, Arizona will have a lieutenant governor, pursuant to a 2022 amendment to the constitution. Nominees will be chosen by each party's gubernatorial nominee, with the governor and lieutenant governor then chosen by general election voters on a joint ticket. If the offices of governor and the lieutenant governor become vacant at the same time, the amended law provisions of the state constitution are that the secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer or the superintendent of public instruction will assume the office of governor and then appoint the lieutenant governor pending state legislative approval.

Governors of the State of Arizona

No.	Governor			Term in office	Party	Election
1			George W. P. Hunt (1859–1934)	February 14, 1912 – January 1, 1917 (lost election)	Democratic	1911
						1914
2			Thomas Edward Campbell (1878–1944)	January 1, 1917 – December 25, 1917 (removed from office)	Republican	1916
1			George W. P. Hunt (1859–1934)	December 25, 1917 – January 6, 1919 (did not run)	Democratic
2			Thomas Edward Campbell (1878–1944)	January 6, 1919 – January 1, 1923 (lost election)	Republican	1918
						1920
1			George W. P. Hunt (1859–1934)	January 1, 1923 – January 7, 1929 (lost election)	Democratic	1922
						1924
						1926
3			John Calhoun Phillips (1870–1943)	January 7, 1929 – January 5, 1931 (lost election)	Republican	1928
1			George W. P. Hunt (1859–1934)	January 5, 1931 – January 2, 1933 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1930
4			Benjamin Baker Moeur (1869–1937)	January 2, 1933 – January 4, 1937 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1932
						1934
5			Rawghlie Clement Stanford (1879–1963)	January 4, 1937 – January 2, 1939 (did not run)	Democratic	1936
6			Robert Taylor Jones (1884–1958)	January 2, 1939 – January 6, 1941 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1938
7			Sidney Preston Osborn (1884–1948)	January 6, 1941 – May 25, 1948 (died in office)	Democratic	1940
						1942
						1944
						1946
8			Dan Edward Garvey (1886–1974)	May 25, 1948 – January 1, 1951 (lost nomination)	Democratic	Succeeded from secretary of state
						1948
9			John Howard Pyle (1906–1987)	January 1, 1951 – January 3, 1955 (lost election)	Republican	1950
						1952
10			Ernest McFarland (1894–1984)	January 3, 1955 – January 5, 1959 (did not run)	Democratic	1954
						1956
11			Paul Fannin (1907–2002)	January 5, 1959 – January 4, 1965 (did not run)	Republican	1958
						1960
						1962
12			Samuel Pearson Goddard Jr. (1919–2006)	January 4, 1965 – January 2, 1967 (lost election)	Democratic	1964
13			Jack Williams (1909–1998)	January 2, 1967 – January 6, 1975 (did not run)	Republican	1966
						1968
						1970
14			Raúl Héctor Castro (1916–2015)	January 6, 1975 – October 20, 1977 (resigned)	Democratic	1974
15			Wesley Bolin (1909–1978)	October 20, 1977 – March 4, 1978 (died in office)	Democratic	Succeeded from secretary of state
16			Bruce Babbitt (b. 1938)	March 4, 1978 – January 5, 1987 (did not run)	Democratic	Succeeded from attorney general
						1978
						1982
17			Evan Mecham (1924–2008)	January 5, 1987 – April 4, 1988 (impeached and removed)	Republican	1986
18			Rose Mofford (1922–2016)	April 4, 1988 – March 6, 1991 (did not run)	Democratic	Succeeded from secretary of state
19			Fife Symington (b. 1945)	March 6, 1991 – September 5, 1997 (resigned)	Republican	1990–1991
						1994
20			Jane Dee Hull (1935–2020)	September 5, 1997 – January 6, 2003 (term-limited)	Republican	Succeeded from secretary of state
						1998
21			Janet Napolitano (b. 1957)	January 6, 2003 – January 20, 2009 (resigned)	Democratic	2002
						2006
22			Jan Brewer (b. 1944)	January 20, 2009 – January 5, 2015 (did not run)	Republican	Succeeded from secretary of state
						2010
23			Doug Ducey (b. 1964)	January 5, 2015 – January 2, 2023 (term-limited)	Republican	2014
						2018
24			Katie Hobbs (b. 1969)	January 2, 2023 – Incumbent	Democratic	2022