List of Governors of West Virginia - Governors

Governors

For a list of governors who served the region before West Virginia became a state, see List of Governors of Virginia.

West Virginia was originally part of the state of Virginia, one of the original Thirteen Colonies. The northwestern counties of Virginia broke away during the American Civil War and formed the state, which was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863. Two more Virginia counties, Berkeley and Jefferson, joined the state on March 10, 1866.

To be elected 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. The Constitution of West Virginia, ratified in 1872, calls for a four-year term for the governor, commencing on the Monday after the second Wednesday in the January following an election. The original constitution of 1863 had only a two-year term for governor.

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 serves 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.

Democratic (20) Independent (1) Republican (15)

#	Governor		Term start	Term end	Party	Terms
1		Arthur I. Boreman	June 20, 1863	February 26, 1869	Republican	2 1⁄2
2		Daniel D. T. Farnsworth	February 26, 1869	March 4, 1869	Republican	1⁄2
3		William E. Stevenson	March 4, 1869	March 4, 1871	Republican	2
4		John J. Jacob	March 4, 1871	March 4, 1877	Democratic	2
					Independent
5		Henry M. Mathews	March 4, 1877	March 4, 1881	Democratic	1
6		Jacob B. Jackson	March 4, 1881	March 4, 1885	Democratic	1
7		Emanuel Willis Wilson	March 4, 1885	February 6, 1890	Democratic	1
8		Aretas B. Fleming	February 6, 1890	March 4, 1893	Democratic	1
9		William A. MacCorkle	March 4, 1893	March 4, 1897	Democratic	1
10		George W. Atkinson	March 4, 1897	March 4, 1901	Republican	1
11		Albert B. White	March 4, 1901	March 4, 1905	Republican	1
12		William M. O. Dawson	March 4, 1905	March 4, 1909	Republican	1
13		William E. Glasscock	March 4, 1909	March 14, 1913	Republican	1
14		Henry D. Hatfield	March 14, 1913	March 5, 1917	Republican	1
15		John J. Cornwell	March 5, 1917	March 4, 1921	Democratic	1
16		Ephraim F. Morgan	March 4, 1921	March 4, 1925	Republican	1
17		Howard M. Gore	March 4, 1925	March 4, 1929	Republican	1
18		William G. Conley	March 4, 1929	March 4, 1933	Republican	1
19		Herman G. Kump	March 4, 1933	January 18, 1937	Democratic	1
20		Homer A. Holt	January 18, 1937	January 13, 1941	Democratic	1
21		Matthew M. Neely	January 13, 1941	January 15, 1945	Democratic	1
22		Clarence W. Meadows	January 15, 1945	January 17, 1949	Democratic	1
23		Okey L. Patteson	January 17, 1949	January 19, 1953	Democratic	1
24		William C. Marland	January 19, 1953	January 14, 1957	Democratic	1
25		Cecil H. Underwood	January 14, 1957	January 16, 1961	Republican	1
26		William Wallace Barron	January 16, 1961	January 18, 1965	Democratic	1
27		Hulett C. Smith	January 18, 1965	January 13, 1969	Democratic	1
28		Arch A. Moore, Jr.	January 13, 1969	January 17, 1977	Republican	2
29		Jay Rockefeller	January 17, 1977	January 14, 1985	Democratic	2
30		Arch A. Moore, Jr.	January 14, 1985	January 16, 1989	Republican	1
31		Gaston Caperton	January 16, 1989	January 13, 1997	Democratic	2
32		Cecil H. Underwood	January 13, 1997	January 15, 2001	Republican	1
33		Bob Wise	January 15, 2001	January 17, 2005	Democratic	1
34		Joe Manchin	January 17, 2005	November 15, 2010	Democratic	1 1⁄2
35		Earl Ray Tomblin	November 15, 2010	Incumbent	Democratic	1⁄2