Gubernatorial Power Comparison, 2012

How powerful are state governors? This is a not a simple question. The governorship of each state is as unique as the states themselves and gubernatorial influence is related to a variety of static and temporal factors. Academic scholars have considered this issue and generated indexes to show how state governors compare with their peers. These indexes, such as a well-known one promoted by Thad Beyle in recent years, incorporates factors such as potential time left in office, appointment power, budgetary control, veto abilities, and political party power. But these are certainly not the limits of possible consideration, other factors that have been compared include the electoral mandate or margin of victory in an election, the governors apparently personal political ambition, and public opinion ratings. Below Ballotpedia presents some comparative information related to the power of a governor: Term limits and appointment powers This section looks at gubernatorial terms of office and appointment powers. Scholars generally regard governors with longer terms and fewer restriction on how many times they can be re-elected as have having more power. Similarly, scholars point to governors with more appointments and less secondary oversight (such as required legislative approval) as having more power. 2012 data by state Governor Terms Selected State Administrative Officials (2012*) State Term limits in effect Term lengths (years) Total executive branch positions tracked (including governor) # of gubernatorial appointments # of gubernatorial appointments that are shared or require approval # of appointments that require gubernatorial approval Alabama 2 consecutive term limit 4 44 16 2 0 Alaska 2 consecutive term limit 4 45 17 16 22 Arizona 2 consecutive term limit 4 44 19 17 0 Arkansas 2 lifetime term limit 4 41 15 13 7 California 2 lifetime term limit 4 38 26 17 2 Colorado 2 consecutive term limit 4 48 18 13 0 Connecticut No term limits 4 49 27 27 2 Delaware 2 lifetime term limit 4 44 15 15 18 Florida 2 consecutive term limit 4 48 22 18 0 Georgia 2 consecutive term limit 4 46 13 5 4 Hawaii 2 consecutive term limit 4 45 19 18 2 Idaho No term limits 4 35 16 16 0 Illinois No term limits 4 32 21 20 0 Indiana 8 out of 12 year limit 4 44 27 0 0 Iowa No term limits 4 45 21 21 0 Kansas 2 consecutive term limit 4 43 16 14 0 Kentucky 2 consecutive term limit 4 45 24 1 9 Louisiana 2 consecutive term limit 4 50 24 22 2 Maine 2 consecutive term limit 4 39 18 16 0 Maryland 2 consecutive term limit 4 45 22 18 3 Massachusetts No term limits 4 51 18 0 19 Michigan 2 lifetime term limit 4 35 19 19 0 Minnesota No term limits 4 42 22 22 0 Mississippi 2 lifetime term limit 4 42 17 17 0 Missouri 2 lifetime term limit 4 47 15 13 5 Montana 8 out of 16 year limit 4 51 20 17 0 Nebraska 2 consecutive term limit 4 46 20 20 0 Nevada 2 lifetime term limit 4 36 16 3 1 New Hampshire No term limits 2 44 23 20 13 New Jersey 2 consecutive term limit 4 44 23 22 1 New Mexico 2 consecutive term limit 4 35 23 18 0 New York No term limits 4 40 31 26 0 North Carolina 2 consecutive term limit 4 45 20 0 0 North Dakota No term limits 4 42 17 1 0 Ohio 2 consecutive term limit 4 48 21 19 2 Oklahoma 2 lifetime term limit 4 44 15 15 0 Oregon 8 out of 12 year limit 4 46 19 16 1 Pennsylvania 2 consecutive term limit 4 49 32 20 7 Rhode Island 2 consecutive term limit 4 48 26 24 0 South Carolina 2 consecutive term limit 4 48 13 12 0 South Dakota 2 consecutive term limit 4 38 18 18 0 Tennessee 2 consecutive term limit 4 49 24 0 0 Texas No term limits 4 41 7 0 2 Utah No term limits 4 48 21 19 5 Vermont No term limits 2 45 13 13 23 Virginia No consecutive terms 4 45 31 29 0 Washington No term limits 4 33 20 0 0 West Virginia 2 consecutive term limit 4 41 21 21 0 Wisconsin No term limits 4 47 15 14 0 Wyoming 8 out of 16 year limit (May be unconstitutional) 4 43 20 9 0 Note: 2012 executive branch data is abstracted from The Council of State Governments' Book of the States 2012. 2012 data by districts and territories Governor Terms Selected State Administrative Officials (2012*) State Term limits in effect Term lengths (years) Total executive branch positions tracked (including governor) # of gubernatorial appointments # of gubernatorial appointments that are shared or require approval # of appointments that require gubernatorial approval American Samoa 2 consecutive term limit 4 27 20 15 1 Guam 2 consecutive term limit 4 47 33 32 0 North Mariana Islands 2 lifetime term limit 4 48 19 13 0 Puerto Rico No term limits 4 -- -- -- -- U.S. Virgin Islands 2 consecutive term limit 4 49 43 39 0 Washington D.C. No term limits (Mayor) 4 -- -- -- -- 2010 comparison Governor Selected State Administrative Officials (2010*) Changes 2010 to 2012 State Total executive branch positions tracked (including governor) # of gubernatorial appointments # of gubernatorial appointments that are shared or require approval # of appointments that require gubernatorial approval Total executive branch positions tracked (including governor) # of gubernatorial appointments # of gubernatorial appointments that are shared or require approval # of appointments that require gubernatorial approval Alabama 44 17 2 0 0 -1 0 0 Alaska 44 17 16 22 1 0 0 0 Arizona 43 19 17 0 1 0 0 0 Arkansas 39 15 9 4 2 0 4 3 California 38 26 17 2 0 0 0 0 Colorado 48 17 12 0 0 1 1 0 Connecticut 48 27 27 2 1 0 0 0 Delaware 43 15 15 18 1 0 0 0 Florida 50 23 18 1 -2 -1 0 -1 Georgia 47 14 5 4 -1 -1 0 0 Hawaii 44 18 18 2 1 1 0 0 Idaho 41 21 21 0 -6 -5 -5 0 Illinois 33 21 20 0 -1 0 0 0 Indiana 44 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 Iowa 45 21 20 0 0 0 1 0 Kansas 42 14 14 0 1 2 0 0 Kentucky 46 25 1 9 -1 -1 0 0 Louisiana 50 25 23 3 0 -1 -1 -1 Maine 38 18 16 0 1 0 0 0 Maryland 45 21 17 4 0 1 1 -1 Massachusetts 51 19 0 19 0 -1 0 0 Michigan 37 17 17 0 -2 2 2 0 Minnesota 41 23 22 0 1 -1 0 0 Mississippi 42 17 17 0 0 0 0 0 Missouri 46 15 13 5 1 0 0 0 Montana 47 16 12 0 4 4 5 0 Nebraska 46 19 19 0 0 1 1 0 Nevada 35 16 3 1 1 0 0 0 New Hampshire 44 23 20 13 0 0 0 0 New Jersey 44 23 22 1 0 0 0 0 New Mexico 44 34 15 0 -9 -11 3 0 New York 33 25 19 0 7 6 7 0 North Carolina 45 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 North Dakota 42 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 Ohio 48 20 18 2 0 1 1 0 Oklahoma 43 15 15 0 1 0 0 0 Oregon 45 19 16 1 1 0 0 0 Pennsylvania 49 30 20 7 0 2 0 0 Rhode Island 42 22 20 2 6 4 4 -2 South Carolina 48 13 12 0 0 0 0 0 South Dakota 35 17 17 0 3 1 1 0 Tennessee 48 26 0 0 1 -2 0 0 Texas 42 8 0 2 -1 -1 0 0 Utah 48 21 19 5 0 0 0 0 Vermont 46 12 12 23 -1 1 1 0 Virginia 45 31 29 0 0 0 0 0 Washington 33 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 West Virginia 41 21 21 0 0 0 0 0 Wisconsin 46 15 14 0 1 0 0 0 Wyoming 43 21 9 0 0 -1 0 0 Note: U.S. Districts and territories saw no change between 2010 and 2012 and were therefore omitted. 2010 executive branch data is abstracted from The Council of State Governments' Book of the States 2010. Current governors The tables below present the basic election and term information of the various governors of the U.S. as of 2012. Scholars generally regard governors who are elected, earlier in their terms of office, and have more chances to be re-elected as being more powerful. States in 2012 State Current Governor Party Current Term Began Current Term Ends Number of Previous Terms Total Possible Consecutive Terms Notes Alabama Robert J. Bentley Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Alaska Sean Parnell Republican 2010 (December) 2014 (December) 1 2 Succeeded into governorship July 26, 2009. Elected in November of 2010. Arizona Jan Brewer Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 1 2 Succeeded into governorship January 21, 2009. Elected in November of 2010. Arkansas Mike Beebe Democrat 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 1 2 California Jerry Brown Democrat 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 2 2 Elected in November of 1974 and 1978 before constitutional term limits. Elected again in November of 2010. Colorado John Hickenlooper Democrat 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Connecticut Dan Malloy Democrat 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 Delaware Jack Markell Democrat 2009 (January) 2013 (January) 0 2 Florida Rick Scott Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Georgia Nathan Deal Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Hawaii Neil Abercrombie Democrat 2010 (December) 2014 (December) 0 2 Idaho Butch Otter Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 1 Illinois Pat Quinn Democrat 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 1 Succeeded into governorship January 29, 2009. Elected in November of 2010. Indiana Mitch Daniels Republican 2009 (January) 2013 (January) 1 2 Iowa Terry E. Branstad Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 4 Elected in November of 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, and 2010. Kansas Sam Brownback Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Kentucky Steve Beshear Democrat 2011 (December) 2015 (December) 1 2 Louisiana Bobby Jindal Republican 2012 (January) 2015 (January) 1 2 Maine Paul LePage Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Maryland Martin O'Malley Democrat 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 1 2 Massachusetts Deval Patrick Democrat 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 1 Michigan Rick Snyder Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Minnesota Mark Dayton Democrat 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 Mississippi Phil Bryant Republican 2012 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Missouri Jay Nixon Democrat 2009 (January) 2013 (January) 0 2 Montana Brian Schweitzer Democrat 2009 (January) 2013 (January) 1 2 Nebraska Dave Heineman Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 2 2 Succeeded into governorship January 21, 2005. Elected in November of 2006 and 2010. Nevada Brian Sandoval Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 New Hampshire John H. Lynch Democrat 2011 (January) 2013 (January) 3 Two year terms. New Jersey Chris Christie Republican 2010 (January) 2014 (January) 0 2 New Mexico Susana Martinez Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 New York Andrew Cuomo Democrat 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 North Carolina Beverly Perdue Democrat 2009 (January) 2013 (January) 0 2 North Dakota Jack Dalrymple Republican 2010 (December) 2012 (December) 0 Suceeded into governorship December 7, 2010. Ohio John Kasich Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Oklahoma Mary Fallin Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Oregon John Kitzhaber Democrat 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 2 2 Elected November of 1994, 1998, and 2010 Pennsylvania Tom Corbett Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Rhode Island Lincoln Chafee Independent 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 South Carolina Nikki Haley Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 South Dakota Dennis Daugaard Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Tennessee Bill Haslam Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Texas Rick Perry Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 3 Succeeded into governorship December 21, 2000. Elected in November of 2002, 2006, and 2010. Utah Gary R. Herbert Republican 2009 (August) 2013 (January) 0 Succeeded into governorship August 11, 2009. Elected in a special election in November of 2010 to fill the remainder of term. Vermont Peter Shumlin Democrat 2011 (January) 2013 (January) 0 Two year terms. Virginia Bob McDonnell Republican 2010 (January) 2014 (January) 0 1 Washington Christine Gregoire Democrat 2009 (January) 2013 (January) 1 West Virginia Earl Ray Tomblin Democrat 2010 (November) 2013 (January) 0 2 Succeeded into governorship November 15, 2010. Elected in special election in October of 2011 to fill the remainder of term. Wisconsin Scott Walker Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 Wyoming Matt Mead Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 Note: Current governor data is abstracted from the National Governors Association. Districts and territories in 2012 State Current Governor Party Current Term Began Current Term Ends Number of Previous Terms Total Possible Consecutive Terms Notes American Samoa Togiola T.A. Tulafono Democrat 2009 (January) 2013 (January) 2 2 Succeeded into governorship April 7, 2003. Elected November of 2004 and 2008. Guam Eddie Calvo Republican 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 2 North Mariana Islands Benígno Fitial Republican 2010 (January) 2015 (January) 1 2 Elected in November of 2005 and 2009. Will serve a 5-year term as North Mariana Islands move to an even year election cycle. Puerto Rico Luis G. Fortuño Republican 2009 (January) 2013 (January) 0 U.S. Virgin Islands John deJongh, Jr. Democrat 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 1 2 Washington D.C. Vincent C. Gray Democrat 2011 (January) 2015 (January) 0 Mayor. Note: Current governor data is abstracted from the National Governors Association. Information on the Mayor of Washington D.C. is abstracted from the Executive Office of the Mayor. See also State executive officials States with gubernatorial term limits External links 2012 Book of States 2010 Book of States Thad Beyle, "Gubernatorial Power" National Governors Association, "Current Governors" Footnotes