List of Governors of Texas

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In politics, Governor of Texas is the title given to the chief executive of the state of Texas. As in many Southern states, Louisiana excepted, the Governor's power is quite limited. When the office was created by the Texas Constitution of 1876, the authors dispersed much of the power traditionally given to the office of the governor to independently elected officials, creating what some refer to as a "plural executive." ^[1] With the exception of the Secretary of State, the remaining members of the Governor's cabinet are also elected by popular vote. In addition, because the Lieutenant Governor runs on a separate ticket, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor can be (and have been) from different political parties.

In Texas, gubernatorial elections are held in the same year as mid-term elections (when Congressional, but not Presidential, elections are held, i.e. 2002, 2006, 2010,...). As is the case in most states, Texas governors are elected to four-year terms (prior to 1974 they were elected to two-year terms). There are no term limits on the office; current Governor Rick Perry was re-elected to a second full term in 2006 and has declared he will run again in 2010 (at the end of his current term, he will be Texas' longest-serving governor, with roughly ten consecutive years in office).

A significant limitation on gubernatorial power involves the commutation of prisoner sentences, an issue which arises whenever a death penalty sentence is to be carried out. The Governor can only overturn a death sentence upon the positive recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole, the Governor can choose to ignore the Board's clemency recommendation and carry out the execution, but the opposite is not true—the Governor cannot commute or overturn a sentence if the Board does not recommend such. The only unilateral option the Governor has is to issue one 30-day stay of execution.

The governor does have one key power that the Texas Legislature does not have—the governor can call the Legislature into special session for 30 days, as many times as the governor desires (the Legislature cannot call itself into session). These special sessions can only address issues located on the governor's "call", which can be changed at any time by the governor.

[edit] Leaders before being part of the United States

[edit] Governors of the State of Texas

No.	Governor	Picture	Took office	Left office	Party	Notes
1	James Pinckney Henderson		February 19, 1846	December 21, 1847	Democratic
2	George T. Wood		December 21, 1847	December 21, 1849	Democratic
3	Peter Hansborough Bell		December 21, 1849	November 23, 1853	Democratic	[3]
4	James W. Henderson		November 23, 1853	December 21, 1853	Democratic
5	Elisha M. Pease		December 21, 1853	December 21, 1857	Unionist
6	Hardin R. Runnels		December 21, 1857	December 21, 1859	Democratic
7	Sam Houston		December 12, 1859	March 16, 1861	Independent	[4]
8	Edward Clark		March 16, 1861	November 7, 1861	Democratic
9	Francis R. Lubbock		November 7, 1861	November 5, 1863	Democratic	[5]
10	Pendleton Murrah		November 5, 1863	June 17, 1865	Democratic
11	Andrew J. Hamilton		June 17, 1865	August 9, 1866	Democratic
12	James W. Throckmorton		August 9, 1866	August 8, 1867	Democratic
13	Elisha M. Pease		June 8, 1867	September 30, 1869	Republican	[6]
14	Edmund J. Davis		January 8, 1870	January 15, 1874	Republican
15	Richard Coke		January 15, 1874	December 21, 1876	Democratic	[7]
16	Richard B. Hubbard		December 21, 1876	January 21, 1879	Democratic
17	Oran M. Roberts		January 21, 1879	January 16, 1883	Democratic
18	John Ireland		January 16, 1883	January 20, 1887	Democratic
19	Lawrence Sullivan Ross		January 18, 1887	January 20, 1891	Democratic
20	James Stephen Hogg		January 20, 1891	January 15, 1895	Democratic
21	Charles A. Culberson		January 15, 1895	January 17, 1899	Democratic
22	Joseph D. Sayers		January 17, 1899	January 20, 1903	Democratic
23	S. W. T. Lanham		January 20, 1903	January 15, 1907	Democratic
24	Thomas Mitchell Campbell		January 15, 1907	January 17, 1911	Democratic
25	Oscar Branch Colquitt		January 17, 1911	January 19, 1915	Democratic
26	James E. "Pa" Ferguson		January 19, 1915	August 25, 1917	Democratic	[8]
27	William P. Hobby		August 25, 1917	January 18, 1921	Democratic
28	Pat Morris Neff		January 18, 1921	January 20, 1925	Democratic
29	Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson		January 20, 1925	January 17, 1927	Democratic
30	Dan Moody		January 17, 1927	January 20, 1931	Democratic
31	Ross S. Sterling		January 20, 1931	January 17, 1933	Democratic
32	Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson		January 17, 1933	January 15, 1935	Democratic
33	James V. Allred		January 15, 1935	January 17, 1939	Democratic
34	W. Lee O'Daniel		January 17, 1939	August 4, 1941	Democratic	[9]
35	Coke R. Stevenson		August 4, 1941	January 21, 1947	Democratic
36	Beauford H. Jester		January 21, 1947	July 11, 1949	Democratic	[10]
37	Allan Shivers		July 11, 1949	January 15, 1957	Democratic	[11]
38	Price Daniel		January 15, 1957	January 21, 1963	Democratic
39	John Connally		January 15, 1963	January 21, 1969	Democratic
40	Preston Smith		January 21, 1969	January 16, 1973	Democratic
41	Dolph Briscoe		January 16, 1973	January 16, 1979	Democratic
42	Bill Clements		January 16, 1979	January 18, 1983	Republican
43	Mark White		January 18, 1983	January 20, 1987	Democratic
44	Bill Clements		January 20, 1987	January 15, 1991	Republican
45	Ann Richards		January 15, 1991	January 17, 1995	Democratic
46	George W. Bush		January 17, 1995	December 21, 2000	Republican	[12]
47	Rick Perry		December 21, 2000	Present	Republican	[13]

[edit] Notes

[edit] Living former governors

As of November 2007, four former governors were alive, the oldest being Bill Clements (1979–1983, 1987–1991, born 1917). The most recent governor to die was Ann Richards (1991–1995), on September 13, 2006.

[edit] See also

• History of Texas
• List of Presidents of the Republic of Texas
• Texas
• Governor
• State Government
• U.S. Politics
• Government of the United States
• Category:Governors of Texas
• List of Texas county name etymologies

[edit] External links

• Legislative Reference Library of Texas -- Governors of Texas
• Governor (of Texas) from the Handbook of Texas Online
• The Handbook of Texas Online: Texas History Quiz -- Presidents and Governors of Texas
• Explanation of the strengths of governors