List of governors of California facts for kids

The governor of California is like the chief executive of the state. They are in charge of making sure state laws are followed and presenting the state's budget each year. The governor also gives a "State of the State" speech to the California State Legislature. They are also the leader of California's military forces, the California National Guard.

The current governor is Gavin Newsom, who started his term in 2019. California has had 39 different people serve as governor. Some of them became very famous across the country. For example, Leland Stanford started Stanford University in 1891. Earl Warren later became the Chief Justice of the United States. He was the only person to run for governor of California almost without anyone running against him.

Two famous actors, Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, also became governors. Ronald Reagan later became the president of the United States. Gray Davis, the 37th governor, was one of only two governors in American history to be removed from office by voters in a special recall election.

The governor who served the shortest time was Milton Latham. He was governor for only five days before being chosen for a seat in the United States Senate. The governor who served the longest was Jerry Brown. He was governor from 1975 to 1983 and again from 2011 to 2019. He is the only governor to serve terms that were not back-to-back. His father, Pat Brown, was also a governor from 1959 to 1967.

Gavin Newsom, the current governor of California.

Becoming Governor of California

California became part of the United States after the Mexican–American War. It joined the U.S. as the 31st state on September 9, 1850. Unlike most other states, California was never a territory first.

The first California Constitution in 1849 said that elections for governor would happen every two years. In 1862, a change was made to make the term four years long. The 1879 constitution set the governor's term to start on the first Monday after January 1, following an election.

Term Limits for Governors

In 1990, a rule called Proposition 140 was passed. This rule changed the constitution to limit governors to serving only two terms. Before this rule, only one governor, Earl Warren, served more than two terms.

Jerry Brown was elected for a third term in 2010 and a fourth term in 2014. This was allowed because his first two terms were before the term limit rule was put in place.

The 1849 constitution also created the job of lieutenant governor. If the governor's office becomes empty, the lieutenant governor takes over as governor. The governor and lieutenant governor are not elected together on the same ballot.

Governors of the State of California

No.	Governor				Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor
1				Peter Hardeman Burnett (1807–1895)	December 20, 1849 – January 9, 1851 (resigned)	Nonpartisan	1849			McDougal, JohnJohn McDougal
2				John McDougal (1818–1866)	January 9, 1851 – January 8, 1852 (did not run)	Nonpartisan	Succeeded from lieutenant governor			Broderick, David C.David C. Broderick (acting)
3				John Bigler (1805–1871)	January 8, 1852 – January 9, 1856 (lost election)	Democratic	1851			Purdy, SamuelSamuel Purdy
							1853
4				J. Neely Johnson (1825–1872)	January 9, 1856 – January 8, 1858 (did not run)	American	1855			Anderson, Robert M.Robert M. Anderson
5				John B. Weller (1812–1875)	January 8, 1858 – January 9, 1860 (did not run)	Democratic	1857			Walkup, JosephJoseph Walkup
6				Milton S. Latham (1827–1882)	January 9, 1860 – January 14, 1860 (resigned)	Lecompton Democratic	1859			Downey, John G.John G. Downey
7				John G. Downey (1827–1894)	January 14, 1860 – January 10, 1862 (did not run)	Lecompton Democratic	Succeeded from lieutenant governor			Quinn, Isaac N.Isaac N. Quinn (acting) (term ended January 7, 1861)
										de la Guerra, PabloPablo de la Guerra (acting)
8				Leland Stanford (1824–1893)	January 10, 1862 – December 10, 1863 (did not run)	Republican	1861			Chellis, John F.John F. Chellis
9				Frederick Low (1828–1894)	December 10, 1863 – December 5, 1867 (did not run)	Union	1863			Machin, Tim N.Tim N. Machin
10				Henry Huntly Haight (1825–1878)	December 5, 1867 – December 8, 1871 (lost election)	Democratic	1867			Holden, WilliamWilliam Holden
11				Newton Booth (1825–1892)	December 8, 1871 – February 27, 1875 (resigned)	Republican	1871			Pacheco, RomualdoRomualdo Pacheco
12				Romualdo Pacheco (1831–1899)	February 27, 1875 – December 9, 1875 (did not run)	Republican	Succeeded from lieutenant governor			Irwin, WilliamWilliam Irwin (acting)
13				William Irwin (1827–1886)	December 9, 1875 – January 8, 1880 (did not run)	Democratic	1875			Johnson, James A.James A. Johnson
14				George C. Perkins (1839–1923)	January 8, 1880 – January 10, 1883 (did not run)	Republican	1879			Mansfield, JohnJohn Mansfield
15				George Stoneman (1822–1894)	January 10, 1883 – January 8, 1887 (did not run)	Democratic	1882			Daggett, JohnJohn Daggett
16						Washington Bartlett (1824–1887)	January 8, 1887 – September 12, 1887 (died in office)	Democratic	1886			Waterman, RobertRobert Waterman
17						Robert Waterman (1826–1891)	September 12, 1887 – January 8, 1891 (did not run)	Republican	Succeeded from lieutenant governor			White, Stephen M.Stephen M. White (acting)
18				Henry Markham (1840–1923)	January 8, 1891 – January 11, 1895 (did not run)	Republican	1890			Reddick, John B.John B. Reddick
19				James Budd (1851–1908)	January 11, 1895 – January 4, 1899 (did not run)	Democratic	1894			Millard, Spencer G.Spencer G. Millard (died October 24, 1895)
								Vacant
										Jeter, William T.William T. Jeter (appointed October 26, 1895)
20				Henry T. Gage (1852–1924)	January 4, 1899 – January 7, 1903 (lost nomination)	Republican	1898			Neff, Jacob H.Jacob H. Neff
21				George Pardee (1857–1941)	January 7, 1903 – January 9, 1907 (lost nomination)	Republican	1902			Anderson, AldenAlden Anderson
22				James Gillett (1860–1937)	January 9, 1907 – January 3, 1911 (did not run)	Republican	1906					Porter, Warren R.Warren R. Porter
23				Hiram Johnson (1866–1945)	January 3, 1911 – March 15, 1917 (resigned)	Republican	1910					Wallace, Albert JosephAlbert Joseph Wallace
						Progressive	1914					Eshleman, John M.John M. Eshleman (died February 28, 1916)
								Vacant
										Stephens, WilliamWilliam Stephens (took office July 22, 1916)
24				William Stephens (1859–1944)	March 15, 1917 – January 9, 1923 (lost nomination)	Republican	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
							1918			Young, C. C.C. C. Young
25				Friend Richardson (1865–1943)	January 9, 1923 – January 4, 1927 (lost nomination)	Republican	1922
26				C. C. Young (1869–1947)	January 4, 1927 – January 6, 1931 (lost nomination)	Republican	1926			Fitts, BuronBuron Fitts (resigned November 30, 1928)
								Vacant
										Carnahan, Herschel L.Herschel L. Carnahan (appointed December 4, 1928)
27				James Rolph (1869–1934)	January 6, 1931 – June 2, 1934 (died in office)	Republican	1930			Merriam, FrankFrank Merriam
28				Frank Merriam (1865–1955)	June 2, 1934 – January 2, 1939 (lost election)	Republican	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
							1934			Hatfield, George J.George J. Hatfield
29				Culbert Olson (1876–1962)	January 2, 1939 – January 4, 1943 (lost election)	Democratic	1938			Patterson, Ellis E.Ellis E. Patterson
30				Earl Warren (1891–1974)	January 4, 1943 – October 4, 1953 (resigned)	Republican	1942			Houser, Frederick F.Frederick F. Houser
							1946			Knight, GoodwinGoodwin Knight
							1950
31				Goodwin Knight (1896–1970)	October 5, 1953 – January 5, 1959 (did not run)	Republican	Succeeded from lieutenant governor			Powers, Harold J.Harold J. Powers
							1954
32				Pat Brown (1905–1996)	January 5, 1959 – January 2, 1967 (lost election)	Democratic	1958			Anderson, Glenn M.Glenn M. Anderson
							1962
33				Ronald Reagan (1911–2004)	January 2, 1967 – January 6, 1975 (did not run)	Republican	1966			Finch, RobertRobert Finch (resigned January 8, 1969)
										Reinecke, EdwinEdwin Reinecke (resigned October 2, 1974)
							1970
										Harmer, John L.John L. Harmer
34				Jerry Brown (b. 1938)	January 6, 1975 – January 3, 1983 (did not run)	Democratic	1974			Dymally, Mervyn M.Mervyn M. Dymally
							1978			Curb, MichaelMichael Curb
35				George Deukmejian (1928–2018)	January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1991 (did not run)	Republican	1982			McCarthy, Leo T.Leo T. McCarthy
							1986
36				Pete Wilson (b. 1933)	January 7, 1991 – January 4, 1999 (term-limited)	Republican	1990
							1994			Davis, GrayGray Davis
37				Gray Davis (b. 1942)	January 4, 1999 – November 17, 2003 (recalled)	Democratic	1998			Bustamante, CruzCruz Bustamante
							2002
38				Arnold Schwarzenegger (b. 1947)	November 17, 2003 – January 3, 2011 (term-limited)	Republican	2003 (recall)
							2006			Garamendi, JohnJohn Garamendi (resigned November 3, 2009)
										Pasquil, MonaMona Pasquil (acting)
										Maldonado, AbelAbel Maldonado (appointed April 27, 2010)
39				Jerry Brown (b. 1938)	January 3, 2011 – January 7, 2019 (term-limited)	Democratic	2010
										Newsom, GavinGavin Newsom (took office January 10, 2011)
							2014
40				Gavin Newsom (b. 1967)	January 7, 2019 – Incumbent	Democratic	2018			Kounalakis, EleniEleni Kounalakis
							2021 (recall)
							2022

More to Explore

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

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Gobernantes de California para niños