List of governors of Oklahoma

The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.

Standard of the governor of Oklahoma

List of governors

Oklahoma Territory

Oklahoma Territory was organized on May 2, 1890.^[1] It had seven governors appointed by the president of the United States.

Governors of the Territory of Oklahoma

No.	Governor		Term in office[a]	Appointing president
1		George Washington Steele (1839–1922) [2]	May 14, 1890[b] – November 8, 1891 (resigned)[c]	Benjamin Harrison
2		Abraham Jefferson Seay (1832–1915) [5]	January 18, 1892[d] – May 7, 1893 (successor appointed)[e]	Benjamin Harrison
3		William Cary Renfrow (1845–1922) [9]	May 6, 1893[f] – May 11, 1897 (resigned)[g]	Grover Cleveland
4		Cassius McDonald Barnes (1845–1925) [12]	May 11, 1897[h] – April 20, 1901 (successor appointed)	William McKinley
5		William Miller Jenkins (1856–1941) [14]	April 20, 1901[i] – November 30, 1901 (removed)[j]	William McKinley
6		Thompson Benton Ferguson (1857–1921) [16]	November 30, 1901[k] – January 13, 1906 (successor appointed)	Theodore Roosevelt
7		Frank Frantz (1872–1941) [18]	January 13, 1906[l] – November 16, 1907 (lost election)	Theodore Roosevelt

State of Oklahoma

Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory were combined and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma on November 16, 1907.^[21]

The Constitution of Oklahoma calls for the election of a governor every four years, to take office on the second Monday in January after the election.^[22] Originally, governors could not succeed themselves, with no limit on total terms;^[23] a 1966 constitutional amendment allowed them to succeed themselves once.^[24] An amendment in 2010 limited them to eight years in total, retroactively applying to all living former governors.^[25] Should the office become vacant because of a death, resignation or removal of the governor, the lieutenant governor immediately succeeds to the governorship.^[26] After Jack C. Walton was impeached and removed in 1923, Lieutenant Governor Martin E. Trapp served in the office for the remainder of the term. He styled himself "Acting Governor," as the constitution only specified that the powers of the office devolved upon the lieutenant governor, hoping that he would not be prevented from running in the next election. However, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in 1926 that, in the case of a vacancy in the office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor, and he was ineligible to run for a consecutive term.^[27][28] The governor and the lieutenant governor are not formally elected on the same ticket.

Governors of the State of Oklahoma

No.	Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor[m]
1			Charles N. Haskell (1860–1933) [29][30]	November 16, 1907[31] – January 9, 1911 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	1907		George W. Bellamy
2			Lee Cruce (1863–1933) [34][35]	January 9, 1911[36] – January 11, 1915 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	1910		J. J. McAlester
3			Robert L. Williams (1868–1948) [37][38]	January 11, 1915[39] – January 13, 1919 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	1914		Martin E. Trapp
4			James B. A. Robertson (1871–1938) [40][41]	January 13, 1919[42] – January 8, 1923 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	1918
5			Jack C. Walton (1881–1949) [43][44]	January 8, 1923[45] – November 19, 1923 (impeached and removed)[o]	Democratic[33]	1922
6			Martin E. Trapp (1877–1951) [27][47]	November 19, 1923[48] – January 10, 1927 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	Succeeded from lieutenant governor[p]	Vacant
7			Henry S. Johnston (1867–1965) [49][50]	January 10, 1927[51] – March 20, 1929 (impeached and removed)[q]	Democratic[33]	1926		William J. Holloway
8			William J. Holloway (1888–1970) [53][54]	March 20, 1929[55] – January 12, 1931 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	Succeeded from lieutenant governor[r]	Vacant
9			William H. Murray (1869–1956) [57][58]	January 12, 1931[59] – January 14, 1935 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	1930		Robert Burns
10			E. W. Marland (1874–1941) [60][61]	January 14, 1935[62] – January 9, 1939 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	1934		James E. Berry
11			Leon C. Phillips (1890–1958) [63][64]	January 9, 1939[65] – January 11, 1943 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	1938
12			Robert S. Kerr (1896–1963) [66][67]	January 11, 1943[68] – January 13, 1947 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	1942
13			Roy J. Turner (1894–1973) [69][70]	January 13, 1947[71] – January 8, 1951 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	1946
14			Johnston Murray (1902–1974) [72][73]	January 8, 1951[74] – January 10, 1955 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	1950
15			Raymond D. Gary (1908–1993) [75][76]	January 10, 1955[77] – January 12, 1959 (term-limited)[n]	Democratic[33]	1954		Cowboy Pink Williams
16			J. Howard Edmondson (1925–1971) [78][79]	January 12, 1959[80] – January 6, 1963 (resigned)[s]	Democratic[33]	1958		George Nigh
17			George Nigh (1927–2025) [81][82]	January 6, 1963[83] – January 14, 1963 (successor took office)	Democratic[33]	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
18			Henry Bellmon (1921–2009) [84][85]	January 14, 1963[86] – January 9, 1967 (term-limited)[n]	Republican[33]	1962		Leo Winters[t]
19			Dewey F. Bartlett (1919–1979) [87][88]	January 9, 1967[89] – January 11, 1971 (lost election)	Republican[33]	1966		George Nigh[t]
20			David Hall (1930–2016) [90][91]	January 11, 1971[92] – January 13, 1975 (lost nomination)[90]	Democratic[33]	1970
21			David Boren (1941–2025) [93][94]	January 13, 1975[95] – January 2, 1979 (resigned)[u]	Democratic[33]	1974
22			George Nigh (1927–2025) [81][82]	January 3, 1979[97] – January 12, 1987 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[82]	Succeeded from lieutenant governor		Spencer Bernard
						1978
						1982
23			Henry Bellmon (1921–2009) [84][85]	January 12, 1987[99] – January 14, 1991 (did not run)	Republican[85]	1986		Robert S. Kerr III[t]
24			David Walters (b. 1951) [100]	January 14, 1991[101] – January 9, 1995 (did not run)	Democratic[100]	1990		Jack Mildren
25			Frank Keating (b. 1944) [102]	January 9, 1995[103] – January 13, 2003 (term-limited)[v]	Republican[102]	1994		Mary Fallin[w]
						1998
26			Brad Henry (b. 1963) [104]	January 13, 2003[105] – January 10, 2011 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[104]	2002
						2006		Jari Askins
27			Mary Fallin (b. 1954) [106]	January 10, 2011[107] – January 14, 2019 (term-limited)[x]	Republican[106]	2010		Todd Lamb
						2014
28			Kevin Stitt (b. 1972) [109]	January 14, 2019[110] – Incumbent[y]	Republican[109]	2018		Matt Pinnell
						2022

See also

• List of Oklahoma state legislatures

Notes

1. The range given is from the date the governor was confirmed by the Senate, or appointed by the President during a Senate recess, to the date the governor's successor was confirmed, unless noted.
2. Steele was nominated on May 10, 1890;^[3] confirmed by the Senate on May 14;^[4] and arrived in the territory on May 22.^[2]
3. Steele resigned due to frustration with the legislature. Territorial Secretary Robert Martin acted as governor until his successor arrived.^[2]
4. Seay was nominated on January 5, 1892;^[6] confirmed by the Senate on January 18;^[7] and took the oath of office on February 2.^[5]
5. McMullin says Seay resigned when Grover Cleveland became president, but Cleveland's nomination of his successor specifies he is being removed.^[8]
6. Renfrow was appointed on May 6, 1893, during a Senate recess;^[8] nominated on August 18;^[8] and confirmed by the Senate on August 22.^[10] He was inaugurated on May 10.^[9]
7. The nomination of Renfrow's successor specifies that Renfrow resigned^[11] but no reason is given.
8. Barnes was nominated on May 3, 1897;^[11] confirmed by the Senate on May 11;^[13] and took the oath of office on May 24.^[12]
9. Jenkins was appointed on April 20, 1901, during a Senate recess, but was removed before he was formally nominated and confirmed.^[15]
10. Jenkins was removed due to a corruption scandal, though he was later exonerated. Territorial Secretary William C. Grimes acted as governor until his successor arrived.^[14]
11. Ferguson was appointed on November 30, 1901, during a Senate recess;^[15] nominated on December 5, 1901;^[15] and confirmed by the Senate on January 13, 1902.^[17] He took the oath of office on December 9, 1901.^[16]
12. Frantz was nominated on December 6, 1905, for a term beginning January 13;^[19] confirmed by the Senate on January 10, 1906;^[20] and was inaugurated on January 13, 1906.^[18]
13. Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
14. Under the original provisions of the 1907 constitution, governors were ineligible to immediately succeed themselves.^[32]
15. Walton was convicted on multiple charges of corruption, abuse of power, and for violating the state constitution by suspending habeas corpus.^[43][46]
16. Jack C. Walton was impeached on October 23, 1923, at which point Trapp began acting as governor; per the 1926 Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling, when Walton was removed from office on November 19, Trapp became governor.^[27]
17. Johnston was convicted on a charge of general incompetence.^[52]
18. Henry S. Johnston was impeached on January 21, 1929, at which point Holloway began acting as governor.^[56]
19. Edmondson resigned so that his successor would appoint him to a vacant United States Senate seat.^[78]
20. Represented the Democratic Party
21. Boren resigned, having been elected to the United States Senate.^[96]
22. Under a 1966 amendment to the constitution, governors were ineligible to be elected more than two times in succession.^[98]
23. Represented the Republican Party
24. Under a 2010 amendment to the constitution, governors are limited to serving eight years in total, not counting partial terms towards the limit.^[108]
25. Stitt's second term began on January 9, 2023,^[111] and will expire on January 11, 2027; he will be term-limited.