List of governors of Ohio

Governor of the State of Ohio
Seal of the Governor of Ohio
Standard of the Governor of Ohio
Incumbent Mike DeWine since January 14, 2019
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)[1]
Website	Official website

The governor of the State of Ohio is the head of the executive branch of the government of Ohio^[2] and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state's military forces.^[3] The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Ohio General Assembly,^[4] the power to convene the legislature^[5] and the power to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.^[6]

There have been 63 governors of Ohio, serving 69 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.

Qualifications[]

The governor's working office is in the Vern Riffe State Office Tower in downtown Columbus

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[]

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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.^[7] 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.^[8] Prior to 1851, the speaker of the senate acted as governor for the term.^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11] 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.^[12]

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.^[13]

Governors of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio

No.	Governor		Term in office	Appointed by
1		Arthur St. Clair	October 5, 1787 – November 22, 1802[14]	Continental Congress[a]
2		Charles Willing Byrd	November 22, 1802 – March 3, 1803	—[b]

Governors of the State of Ohio[]

Ohio was admitted to the Union on March 1, 1803. Since then, it has had 70 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.^[15] 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.^[10] 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.^[16] A 1957 amendment^[10] 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.^[17] 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.^[10]

Governors of the State of Ohio

No.	Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor[c][d]
1			Edward Tiffin	March 3, 1803 – March 4, 1807	Democratic- Republican	1803	Office did not exist
						1805 [e]
2			Thomas Kirker	March 4, 1807 – December 12, 1808	Democratic- Republican
3			Samuel H. Huntington	December 12, 1808 – December 8, 1810	Democratic- Republican	1808 [f]
4			Return J. Meigs Jr.	December 8, 1810 – March 24, 1814	Democratic- Republican	1810
						1812 [g]
5			Othniel Looker	March 24, 1814 – December 8, 1814	Democratic- Republican
6			Thomas Worthington	December 8, 1814 – December 14, 1818	Democratic- Republican	1814
						1816
7			Ethan Allen Brown	December 14, 1818 – January 4, 1822	Democratic- Republican	1818
						1820 [h]
8			Allen Trimble	January 4, 1822 – December 28, 1822	Democratic- Republican
9			Jeremiah Morrow	December 28, 1822 – December 19, 1826	Democratic- Republican	1822
						1824
10			Allen Trimble	December 19, 1826 – December 18, 1830	National Republican	1826
						1828
11			Duncan McArthur	December 18, 1830 – December 7, 1832	National Republican	1830
12			Robert Lucas	December 7, 1832 – December 12, 1836	Democratic	1832
						1834
13			Joseph Vance	December 12, 1836 – December 13, 1838	Whig	1836
14			Wilson Shannon	December 13, 1838 – December 16, 1840	Democratic	1838
15			Thomas Corwin	December 16, 1840 – December 14, 1842	Whig	1840
16			Wilson Shannon	December 14, 1842 – April 15, 1844	Democratic	1842 [i]
17			Thomas W. Bartley	April 15, 1844 – December 3, 1844	Democratic
18			Mordecai Bartley	December 3, 1844 – December 12, 1846	Whig	1844
19			William Bebb	December 12, 1846 – January 22, 1849	Whig	1846 [j]
20			Seabury Ford	January 22, 1849 – December 12, 1850	Whig	1848 [j]
21			Reuben Wood	December 12, 1850 – July 13, 1853	Democratic	1850 [k]
						1851 [l]		William Medill
22			William Medill	July 13, 1853 – January 14, 1856	Democratic		Vacant
						1853		James Myers
23			Salmon P. Chase	January 14, 1856 – January 9, 1860	Republican	1855		Thomas H. Ford
						1857		Martin Welker
24			William Dennison Jr.	January 9, 1860 – January 13, 1862	Republican	1859		Robert C. Kirk
25			David Tod	January 13, 1862 – January 11, 1864	Republican	1861		Benjamin Stanton
26			John Brough	January 11, 1864 – August 29, 1865	Unionist	1863 [m]		Charles Anderson[n]
27			Charles Anderson	August 29, 1865 – January 8, 1866	Republican		Vacant
28			Jacob Dolson Cox	January 8, 1866 – January 13, 1868	Republican	1865		Andrew McBurney
29			Rutherford B. Hayes	January 13, 1868 – January 8, 1872	Republican	1867		John C. Lee
						1869
30			Edward Follansbee Noyes	January 8, 1872 – January 12, 1874	Republican	1871		Jacob Mueller
31			William Allen	January 12, 1874 – January 10, 1876	Democratic	1873		Alphonso Hart[n]
32			Rutherford B. Hayes	January 10, 1876 – March 2, 1877	Republican	1875 [o]		Thomas L. Young
33			Thomas L. Young	March 2, 1877 – January 14, 1878	Republican			H. W. Curtiss (acting)
34			Richard M. Bishop	January 14, 1878 – January 12, 1880	Democratic	1877		Jabez W. Fitch
35			Charles Foster	January 12, 1880 – January 14, 1884	Republican	1879		Andrew Hickenlooper
						1881		Rees G. Richards
36			George Hoadly	January 14, 1884 – January 11, 1886	Democratic	1883		John G. Warwick
37			Joseph B. Foraker	January 11, 1886 – January 13, 1890	Republican	1885		Robert P. Kennedy (resigned March 3, 1887)
								Silas A. Conrad
						1887		William C. Lyon
38			James E. Campbell	January 13, 1890 – January 11, 1892	Democratic	1889		Elbert L. Lampson[n] (replaced January 31, 1890)
								William V. Marquis
39			William McKinley	January 11, 1892 – January 13, 1896	Republican	1891		Andrew L. Harris
						1893
40			Asa S. Bushnell	January 13, 1896 – January 8, 1900	Republican	1895		Asa W. Jones
						1897
41			George K. Nash	January 8, 1900 – January 11, 1904	Republican	1899		John A. Caldwell
						1901		Carl L. Nippert (resigned May 1, 1902)
								Harry L. Gordon
42			Myron T. Herrick	January 11, 1904 – January 8, 1906	Republican	1903		Warren G. Harding
43			John M. Pattison	January 8, 1906 – June 18, 1906	Democratic	1905 [p][q]		Andrew L. Harris[n]
44			Andrew L. Harris	June 18, 1906 – January 11, 1909	Republican		Vacant
45			Judson Harmon	January 11, 1909 – January 13, 1913	Democratic	1908		Francis W. Treadway[n]
						1910		Atlee Pomerene (resigned March 4, 1911)
								Hugh L. Nichols
46			James M. Cox	January 13, 1913 – January 11, 1915	Democratic	1912		W. A. Greenlund
47			Frank B. Willis	January 11, 1915 – January 8, 1917	Republican	1914		John H. Arnold
48			James M. Cox	January 8, 1917 – January 10, 1921	Democratic	1916		Earl D. Bloom
						1918		Clarence J. Brown[n]
49			Harry L. Davis	January 10, 1921 – January 8, 1923	Republican	1920
50			A. Victor Donahey	January 8, 1923 – January 14, 1929	Democratic	1922		Earl D. Bloom
						1924		Charles H. Lewis[n]
						1926		Earl D. Bloom (resigned April 1928)
								William G. Pickrel (term ended November 1928)
								George C. Braden[n]
51			Myers Y. Cooper	January 14, 1929 – January 12, 1931	Republican	1928		John T. Brown
52			George White	January 12, 1931 – January 14, 1935	Democratic	1930		William G. Pickrel
						1932		Charles W. Sawyer
53			Martin L. Davey	January 14, 1935 – January 9, 1939	Democratic	1934		Harold G. Mosier
						1936		Paul P. Yoder
54			John W. Bricker	January 9, 1939 – January 8, 1945	Republican	1938		Paul M. Herbert
						1940
						1942
55			Frank Lausche	January 8, 1945 – January 13, 1947	Democratic	1944		George D. Nye
56			Thomas J. Herbert	January 13, 1947 – January 10, 1949	Republican	1946		Paul M. Herbert
57			Frank Lausche	January 10, 1949 – January 3, 1957	Democratic	1948		George D. Nye
						1950
						1952		John William Brown[n]
						1954 [r]
58			John William Brown	January 3, 1957 – January 14, 1957	Republican		Vacant
59			C. William O'Neill	January 14, 1957 – January 12, 1959	Republican	1956		Paul M. Herbert
60			Michael DiSalle	January 12, 1959 – January 14, 1963	Democratic	1958 [s]		John W. Donahey
61			Jim Rhodes	January 14, 1963 – January 11, 1971	Republican	1962		John William Brown
						1966
62			John J. Gilligan	January 11, 1971 – January 13, 1975	Democratic	1970
63			Jim Rhodes	January 13, 1975 – January 10, 1983	Republican	1974		Dick Celeste[t]
						1978		George Voinovich (resigned November 1979)
							Vacant
64			Dick Celeste	January 10, 1983 – January 14, 1991	Democratic	1982		Myrl Shoemaker (died July 30, 1985)
							Vacant
						1986		Paul Leonard
65			George Voinovich	January 14, 1991 – December 31, 1998	Republican	1990		Mike DeWine (resigned November 12, 1994)
							Vacant
						1994 [u]		Nancy Hollister
66			Nancy Hollister	December 31, 1998 – January 11, 1999	Republican		Vacant
67			Bob Taft	January 11, 1999 – January 8, 2007	Republican	1998		Maureen O'Connor (resigned December 31, 2002)
							Vacant
						2002		Jennette Bradley (resigned January 5, 2005)
								Bruce Johnson (resigned December 8, 2006)
							Vacant
68			Ted Strickland	January 8, 2007 – January 10, 2011	Democratic	2006		Lee Fisher
69			John Kasich	January 10, 2011 – January 14, 2019	Republican	2010		Mary Taylor
						2014
70			Mike DeWine	January 14, 2019 – present	Republican	2018 [v]		Jon A. Husted

Notes[]

Other high offices held[]

This is a table of other governorships, congressional and other federal offices, and ranking diplomatic positions in foreign countries held by Ohio governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Ohio.

* Denotes those offices for which the governor resigned the governorship.

† Denotes those offices from which the governor resigned to take the governorship.

Living former Governors of Ohio[]

As of January 2019^[update], there are five living former Governors of Ohio, the oldest being Dick Celeste (served 1983–1991, born 1937). The most recent death of a former Governor of Ohio was that of George Voinovich (served 1991–1998, born 1936) on June 12, 2016, aged 79. Voinovich is also the most recently serving Governor of Ohio to die.

See also[]

• Election Results, Ohio Governor
• List of Ohio state legislatures

References[]

General[]

Constitutions[]

Specific[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Governors of Ohio.

• Office of the Governor of Ohio