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In politics, Governor of Texas is the title given to the chief executive of the state of Texas.

Governors of Texas

# Name Took Office Left Office Party
1 James Pinckney Henderson 19 February 1846 21 December 1847 Democrat
2 George T. Wood 21 December 1847 21 December 1849 Democrat
3 Peter Hansborough Bell 21 December 1849 23 November 1853 Democrat
4 J. W. Henderson 23 November 1853 21 December 1853 Democrat
5 Elisha M. Pease 21 December 1853 21 December 1857 Unionist
6 Hardin R. Runnels 21 December 1857 21 December 1859 Democrat
7 Sam Houston 21 December 1859 16 March 1861 Independent
8 Edward Clark 16 March 1861 7 November 1861 Democrat
9 Francis R. Lubbock 7 November 1861 5 November 1863 Democrat
10 Pendleton Murrah 5 November 1863 June 1865 Democrat
10 Fletcher Stockdale June 1865 19 June 1865 Democrat
11 Andrew J. Hamilton 19 June 1865 9 August 1866 Democrat
12 James W. Throckmorton 9 August 1866 8 August 1867 Democrat
13 Elisha M. Pease 8 August 1867 30 September 1869 Republican
14 Edmund J. Davis 8 January 1870 15 January 1874 Republican
15 Richard Coke 15 January 1874 1 December 1876 Democrat
16 Richard B. Hubbard 1 December 1876 21 January 1879 Democrat
17 Oran M. Roberts 21 January 1879 16 January 1883 Democrat
18 John Ireland 16 January 1883 18 January 1887 Democrat
19 Lawrence Sullivan Ross 18 January 1887 20 January 1891 Democrat
20 James Stephen Hogg 20 January 1891 15 January 1895 Democrat
21 Charles A. Culberson 15 January 1895 17 January 1899 Democrat
22 Joseph D. Sayers 17 January 1899 20 January 1903 Democrat
23 S.W.T. Lanham 20 January 1903 15 January 1907 Democrat
24 Thomas Mitchell Campbell 15 January 1907 17 January 1911 Democrat
25 Oscar Branch Colquitt 17 January 1911 19 January 1915 Democrat
26 James E. Ferguson 19 January 1915 25 August 1917 Democrat
27 William Pettus Hobby Sr. 25 August 1917 18 January 1921 Democrat
28 Pat Morris Neff 18 January 1921 20 January 1925 Democrat
29 Miriam A. Ferguson 20 January 1925 17 January 1927 Democrat
30 Dan Moody 17 January 1927 20 January 1931 Democrat
31 Ross S. Sterling 20 January 1931 17 January 1933 Democrat
32 Miriam A. Ferguson 17 January 1933 15 January 1935 Democrat
33 James V. Allred 15 January 1935 17 January 1939 Democrat
34 W. Lee O'Daniel 17 January 1939 4 August 1941 Democrat
35 Coke R. Stevenson 4 August 1941 21 January 1947 Democrat
36 Beauford H. Jester 21 January 1947 11 July 1949 Democrat
37 Allan Shivers 11 July 1949 15 January 1957 Democrat
38 Price Daniel 15 January 1957 15 January 1963 Democrat
39 John B. Connally Jr. 15 January 1963 21 January 1969 Democrat
40 Preston Smith 21 January 1969 16 January 1973 Democrat
41 Dolph Briscoe 16 January 1973 16 January 1979 Democrat
42 William P. Clements 16 January 1979 18 January 1983 Republican
43 Mark White 18 January 1983 20 January 1987 Democrat
44 William P. Clements 20 January 1987 15 January 1991 Republican
45 Ann Richards 15 January 1991 17 January 1995 Democrat
46 George W. Bush 17 January 1995 21 December 2000 Republican
47 J. Richard Perry 21 December 2000 present Republican

Acting Governors of Texas

In Texas, a 50-year tradition called “Governor For A Day” makes the President pro tempore of the Texas Senate the acting governor for a day. During that time, the governor and lieutenant governor both leave the state, leaving the President Pro Tem serving in the governor's office for a day.

Gubernatorial Power

As is the trend in many Southern states, the Governor's power is quite limited. With the exception of the Secretary of State, the remaining members of the Governor's cabinet are also elected by popular vote. In addition, the Lieutenant Governor runs on a separate ticket, thus the Governor and Lieutenant Governor can (and have been) from different political parties.

Another 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 Pardon 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 s/he desires (the Legislature cannot call itself into session).

See also

External links

Governors of Texas | History of Texas | Lists of United States governors | Texas lists

Liste der Gouverneure von Texas | Liste des gouverneurs du Texas | Seznam guvernerjev Teksasa

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "List of Governors of Texas".

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