List of governors of Ohio
The governor of Ohio is the head of government of Ohio and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state's military forces. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Ohio General Assembly, the power to convene the legislature and the power to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.
There have been 64 governors of Ohio, serving 70 distinct terms. The longest term was held by Jim Rhodes, who was elected four times and served just under sixteen years in two non-consecutive periods of two terms each. The shortest terms were held by John William Brown and Nancy Hollister, who each served for only 11 days after the governors preceding them resigned in order to begin the terms to which they had been elected in the United States Senate; the shortest-serving elected governor was John M. Pattison, who died in office five months into his term.
The current governor is Republican Mike DeWine, who took office on January 14, 2019, and was re-elected in 2022. After eight years the incumbent is term-limited and ineligible to seek a third consecutive term in the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial election.
List of governors
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the Ohio River, commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was organized on July 13, 1787. Many territories and states were split from Northwest Territory over the years, with the last portion being split between Indiana Territory and the newly admitted state of Ohio on March 1, 1803.Throughout its 15-year history, Northwest Territory had only one governor appointed by the federal government, Arthur St. Clair. He was removed from office by President Thomas Jefferson on November 22, 1802, and no successor was named; Secretary of the Territory Charles Willing Byrd acted as governor until statehood.
State of Ohio
Ohio was admitted to the Union on March 1, 1803. Since then, it has had 64 governors, six of whom served non-consecutive terms.The first constitution of 1803 allowed governors to serve for two-year terms, limited to six of any eight years, commencing on the first Monday in the December following an election. The current constitution of 1851 removed the term limit, and shifted the start of the term to the second Monday in January following an election. In 1908, Ohio switched from holding elections in odd-numbered years to even-numbered years, with the preceding governor serving an extra year. A 1957 amendment lengthened the term to four years and allowed governors to only succeed themselves once, having to wait four years after their second term in a row before being allowed to run again. An Ohio Supreme Court ruling in 1973 clarified this to mean governors could theoretically serve unlimited terms, as long as they waited four years after every second term.