List of governors of Washington

Governor of Washington
Seal of the governor
Incumbent
Jay Inslee
since January 16, 2013
Style
Status
ResidenceWashington Governor's Mansion
Term lengthFour years, no term limit
Inaugural holderElisha P. Ferry
FormationNovember 11, 1889
DeputyLieutenant Governor of Washington
Salary$182,179 (2019)[1]
Websitegovernor.wa.gov

The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.[2][3] The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,[4] the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Washington Legislature and line-item veto power to cancel specific provisions in spending bills.[5] The Washington governor may also convene the legislature on "extraordinary occasions".[4]

Washington Territory had 14 territorial governors from its organization in 1853 until the formation of the state of Washington in 1889. Territorial governors were appointed by the president of the United States. Elisha P. Ferry had the longest term of eight years and went on to become the state's first governor. William H. Wallace was appointed governor but never took office due to being elected as the territory's congressional delegate. George Edward Cole was appointed governor and took office, but his appointment was never ratified by the U.S. Senate and he was replaced as governor after four months.

Twenty-two individuals have held the office of Governor of Washington since the state's admission to the Union, with Arthur B. Langlie serving non-consecutive terms. Populist Party candidate John Rankin Rogers is the only non-Democratic or Republican nominee to win office. The most recent governor to be from Eastern Washington was Clarence D. Martin, elected in 1932.[6] The current governor is Democrat Jay Inslee, who took office on January 16, 2013, and was reelected in 2016 and 2020; his term will expire on January 15, 2025, as Inslee announced on May 1, 2023, that he will not be seeking re-election to an unprecedented fourth term in 2024.[7] Washington has had the longest current streak of Democratic governors in the nation, with the last Republican to hold the office being John Spellman in 1985.[8]

With the re-election of Inslee in 2020, Langlie, Daniel J. Evans and Inslee are the only three Washington governors to be elected to three terms with 12 years respectively.

  1. ^ "2013 and 2014 Salary Schedule, Adopted May 22, 2013" (PDF). Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  2. ^ WA Const. art. III, § 2.
  3. ^ WA Const. art. III, § 8.
  4. ^ a b WA Const. art. III, § 5.
  5. ^ WA Const. art. III, § 12.
  6. ^ Brunner, Jim (September 20, 2020). "Meet Loren Culp, the Republican gubernatorial candidate who wants to unseat Jay Inslee". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  7. ^ Brunner, Jim (May 1, 2023). "After Jay Inslee, what's next for WA politics? What we know about 2024". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  8. ^ Brunner, Jim (August 11, 2012). "McKenna win would end drought for GOP in races for governor". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 28, 2020.

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