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Number of Governors of Colorado by party affiliation

Party	Governors
Democratic	21
Republican	19
Populist	1

The following is a 'list of the Governors of the State of Colorado', as well as the Territory of Colorado and the extralegal Territory of Jefferson. The governor is the chief executive of the State of Colorado and the nominal commander-in-chief of the Colorado National Guard. To be governor, one must be at least 30 years old, be a citizen of the United States, and have been a resident of the state for at least two years. The governor has the power to veto bills passed by the legislature, and to grant pardons in all cases except treason and impeachment.
In the circumstance that the office is vacant through death, resignation, removal, or other disability, the lieutenant governor takes the oath of office and becomes, rather than acts, as governor. If both the governor and lieutenant governor are incapacitated, the line of succession moves down through the senior members of the state senate and state house of representatives of the same party as the governor. In this case, too, the replacement actually becomes governor rather than acting in the office. Governors and lieutenant governors are elected to four-year terms, to commence on the second Tuesday in January, and are limited to two terms.
Until 1967, the governor and lieutenant governor were elected on separate tickets for two-year terms. This was increased to four years in 1967, and in 1986 the constitution was amended to elect the two offices on the same ticket. The term limit was added to the constitution in 1991.
The current governor is Bill Ritter, who took office on January 9 2007.

★ The region that would become Colorado was part of four different U.S. territories before the Colorado Territory was organized on February 28 1861. See the lists of governors for the territories of New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, and Nebraska.

★ Prior to the Mexican Cession on 1848-05-26, much of the region that would become Colorado was nominally part of the Spanish and Mexican territory of Santa Fé de Nuevo México. See the Spanish governors of New Mexico.

Contents

List of Governors

Governor of the Territory of Jefferson

Governors of the Territory of Colorado

Governors of the State of Colorado

Notes

Other high offices held

Living former governors

See also

References

List of Governors

Governor of the Territory of Jefferson

The Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson was organized on October 24 1859. Jefferson Territory was never recognized by the Federal Government of the United States, but many of the laws enacted by the Jefferson Territory were later affirmed or reenacted by the Colorado General Assembly.

#	Name	Took office	Left office	Party	Notes
1	Robert Williamson Steele	November 7 1859	June 6 1861	Democratic	[1][2]

Governors of the Territory of Colorado

Colorado Territory was formed on February 28 1861, from parts of four other territories.

#	Name	Took office	Left office	Party	Appointed by	Notes
1	William Gilpin	March 25 1861	March 26 1862	Republican	Abraham Lincoln	[3][4]
2	John Evans	March 26 1862	October 17 1865	Republican	Abraham Lincoln	[5]
3	Alexander Cummings	October 17 1865	April 24 1867	Republican	Andrew Johnson
4	Alexander Cameron Hunt	April 24 1867	June 14 1869	Republican	Andrew Johnson
5	Edward M. McCook	June 14 1869	1873	Republican	Ulysses S. Grant	[6]
6	Samuel Hitt Elbert	April 4 1873	1874	Republican	Ulysses S. Grant	[7]
7	Edward M. McCook	June 19 1874	March 29 1875	Republican	Ulysses S. Grant
8	John Long Routt	March 29 1875	August 1 1876	Republican	Ulysses S. Grant

Governors of the State of Colorado

Colorado was admitted to the Union on August 1 1876.

#	Name	Took office	Left office	Party	Lt. Governor	Notes
1	John Long Routt	August 1 1876	January 14 1879	Republican	Lafayette Head
2	Frederick Walker Pitkin	January 14 1879	January 9 1883	Republican	Horace Austin Warner Tabor
3	James Benton Grant	January 9 1883	January 13 1885	Democratic	William H. Meyer
4	Benjamin Harrison Eaton	January 13 1885	January 11 1887	Republican	Peter W. Breene
5	Alva Adams	January 11 1887	January 8 1889	Democratic	Norman H. Meldrum
6	Job Adams Cooper	January 8 1889	January 13 1891	Republican	William Grover Smith
7	John Long Routt	January 13 1891	January 10 1893	Republican	William Story
8	Davis Hanson Waite	January 10 1893	January 8 1895	Populist	David Hopkinson Nichols
9	Albert Washington McIntire	January 8 1895	January 12 1897	Republican	Jared L. Brush
10	Alva Adams	January 12 1897	January 10 1899	Democratic	Jared L. Brush
11	Charles Spalding Thomas	January 10 1899	January 8 1901	Democratic	Francis Patrick Carney
12	James Bradley Orman	January 8 1901	January 13 1903	Democratic	David Courtney Coates
					Warren A. Haggott
13	James Hamilton Peabody	January 13 1903	January 10 1905	Republican	Jesse F. McDonald
14	Alva Adams	January 10 1905	March 17 1905	Democratic	Arthur Cornforth	The 1904 election was rife with fraud and controversy. Alva Adams won election, but soon after he took office, the Republican legislature declared James Peabody to be the actual winner, on the condition that Peabody immediately resign. Since Peabody had been governor for a few moments before resigning, it was his lieutenant governor, Jesse McDonald, that succeeded to the governorship. In all, Colorado had three governors on March 17, 1905.
15	James Hamilton Peabody	March 17 1905	March 17 1905	Republican	Jesse F. McDonald
16	Jesse Fuller McDonald	March 17 1905	January 8 1907	Republican	Fred W. Parks
17	Henry Augustus Buchtel	January 8 1907	January 12 1909	Republican	Erastus Harper
18	John F. Shafroth	January 12 1909	January 14 1913	Democratic	Stephen R. Fitzgarrald
19	Elias M. Ammons	January 14 1913	January 12 1915	Democratic	Stephen R. Fitzgarrald
20	George Alfred Carlson	January 12 1915	January 9 1917	Republican	Moses E. Lewis
21	Julius Caldeen Gunter	January 9 1917	January 14 1919	Democratic	James A. Pulliam
22	Oliver Henry Shoup	January 14 1919	January 9 1923	Republican	George Stepham
					Earl Cooley
23	William Ellery Sweet	January 9 1923	January 13 1925	Democratic	Robert F. Rockwell
24	Clarence Morley	January 13 1925	January 11 1927	Republican	Sterling Byrd Lacy
25	William Herbert Adams	January 11 1927	January 10 1933	Democratic	George Milton Corlett
					Edwin C. Johnson
26	Edwin C. Johnson	January 10 1933	January 1 1937	Democratic	Raymond Herbert Talbot	[8]
27	Ray Herbert Talbot	January 1 1937	January 12 1937	Democratic	''vacant''	As lieutenant governor, filled unexpired term.
28	Teller Ammons	January 12 1937	January 10 1939	Democratic	Frank J. Hayes
29	Ralph Lawrence Carr	January 10 1939	January 12 1943	Republican	John Charles Vivian
30	John Charles Vivian	January 12 1943	January 14 1947	Republican	William Eugene Higby
31	William Lee Knous	January 14 1947	April 15 1950	Democratic	Homer L. Pearson	[9]
					Walter Walford Johnson
32	Walter Walford Johnson	April 15 1950	January 9 1951	Democratic	Charles P. Murphy
33	Daniel I.J. Thornton	January 9 1951	January 11 1955	Republican	Gordon L. Allott
34	Edwin C. Johnson	January 11 1955	January 8 1957	Democratic	Stephen L.R. McNichols
35	Stephen L.R. McNichols	January 8 1957	January 8 1963	Democratic	Frank L. Hays
					Robert Lee Knous
36	John Arthur Love	January 8 1963	July 16 1973	Republican	Robert Lee Knous	[10]
					Mark Anthony Hogan
					John David Vanderhoof
37	John David Vanderhoof	July 16 1973	January 14 1975	Republican	Ted L. Strickland
38	Richard "Dick" Lamm	January 14 1975	January 13 1987	Democratic	George L. Brown
					Nancy E. Dick
39	Roy Romer	January 13 1987	January 12 1999	Democratic	Mike Callihan
					Samuel H. Cassidy
					Gail Schoettler
40	Bill Owens	January 12 1999	January 9 2007	Republican	Joe Rogers
					Jane E. Norton
41	Bill Ritter	January 9 2007	''Incumbent''	Democratic	Barbara O'Brien	[11]

Notes

1. The formation of the territory as well as the election for governor were held on the same day, October 24 1859. Steele opened the legislature on November 7 1859; assuming he would not have taken office on election day, this is the date used.
2. Robert Williamson Steele proclaimed Jefferson Territory dissolved on June 6 1861, several months after the official formation of Colorado Territory.
3. The territory was formed on February 28 1861, but no governor was appointed until March 25 1861. Gilpin himself did not arrive in the territory until May 27 1861.
4. Removed from office for improper financial drafts from the federal treasury.
5. Resigned at the request of President Johnson following the Sand Creek Massacre. The resignation was requested on July 18 1865.
6. Removed from office by petition.
7. Records show Elbert served "less than a year", but his successor was only appointed in June 19, which was 14 months after Elbert took office.
8. Resigned to take elected seat in the United States Senate.
9. Resigned to take seat on the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
10. Resigned to be Director of the Office of Energy Policy.
11. Governor Ritter's first term expires in 2011; he is not yet term limited.

Other high offices held

This is a table of congressional offices held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Colorado.
★ denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take.

Name	Gubernatorial term	Other offices held
Charles Spalding Thomas	1899–1901	U.S. Senator
John Franklin Shafroth	1909–1913	U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator
Edwin Carl Johnson	1933–1937, 1955–1957	U.S. Senator ★

Living former governors

As of September 2007, four former governors were alive, the oldest being John David Vanderhoof (1973–1975, born 1922). The most recent governor to die was John Arthur Love (1963–1973), on January 21 2002.

Name	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth
John David Vanderhoof	1973–1975	May 27 1922
Richard Douglas Lamm	1975–1987	August 12 1935
Roy R. Romer	1987–1999	October 31 1928
William Forrester Owens	1999–2007	October 22 1950

See also

★ Colorado gubernatorial election, 2006

★ History of Colorado

★ Law and government of Colorado

★ Lieutenant Governor of Colorado

★ Territorial evolution of Colorado

References

;General

★ Office of the Governor of the State of Colorado

★ Biographies of the Governors of Colorado from the Colorado State Archives

★ The Territorial Governors Collection from the Colorado State Archives

★ Colorado Constitution, Article IV - Executive Department
;Specific


★ [A] Two Colorado Odysseys: Chief Ouray Porter Nelson, , Robert B., Houston Jr., , 2005,

★ [B] Abraham Lincoln and the Western Territories, , Ralph Y., McGinnis, Rowman & Littlefield, 1994,

★ [C] Correspondence from W. H. Seward to Gov. John Evans, re: Request by President for Resignation - 7/18/1865

★ [D] Alexander Cummings

★ [E] Edward Moody McCook

★ [F] Samuel Hitt Elbert

★ [G] John L. Routt

★ [H] Governors of Colorado