List of governors of Oklahoma facts for kids

Standard of the governor of Oklahoma

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

List of governors

Oklahoma Territory

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

Governors of the Territory of Oklahoma

No.	Governor		Term in office	Appointing president
1		George Washington Steele (1839–1922)	May 14, 1890 – November 8, 1891 (resigned)	Harrison, BenjaminBenjamin Harrison
2		Abraham Jefferson Seay (1832–1915)	January 18, 1892 – May 7, 1893 (successor appointed)	Harrison, BenjaminBenjamin Harrison
3		William Cary Renfrow (1845–1922)	May 6, 1893 – May 11, 1897 (resigned)	Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland
4		Cassius McDonald Barnes (1845–1925)	May 11, 1897 – April 20, 1901 (successor appointed)	McKinley, WilliamWilliam McKinley
5		William Miller Jenkins (1856–1941)	April 20, 1901 – November 30, 1901 (removed)	McKinley, WilliamWilliam McKinley
6		Thompson Benton Ferguson (1857–1921)	November 30, 1901 – January 13, 1906 (successor appointed)	Roosevelt, TheodoreTheodore Roosevelt
7		Frank Frantz (1872–1941)	January 13, 1906 – November 16, 1907 (lost election)	Roosevelt, TheodoreTheodore 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.

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. Originally, governors could not succeed themselves, with no limit on total terms; a 1966 constitutional amendment allowed them to succeed themselves once. An amendment in 2010 limited them to eight years in total, retroactively applying to all living former governors. Should the office become vacant because of a death, resignation or removal of the governor, the lieutenant governor immediately succeeds to the governorship. 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.

Governors of the State of Oklahoma

No.	Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor
1			Charles N. Haskell (1860–1933)	November 16, 1907 – January 9, 1911 (term-limited)	Democratic	1907		Bellamy, George W.George W. Bellamy
2			Lee Cruce (1863–1933)	January 9, 1911 – January 11, 1915 (term-limited)	Democratic	1910		McAlester, J. J.J. J. McAlester
3			Robert L. Williams (1868–1948)	January 11, 1915 – January 13, 1919 (term-limited)	Democratic	1914		Trapp, Martin E.Martin E. Trapp
4			James B. A. Robertson (1871–1938)	January 13, 1919 – January 8, 1923 (term-limited)	Democratic	1918
5			Jack C. Walton (1881–1949)	January 8, 1923 – November 19, 1923 (impeached and removed)	Democratic	1922
6			Martin E. Trapp (1877–1951)	November 19, 1923 – January 10, 1927 (term-limited)	Democratic	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
7			Henry S. Johnston (1867–1965)	January 10, 1927 – March 20, 1929 (impeached and removed)	Democratic	1926		Holloway, William J.William J. Holloway
8			William J. Holloway (1888–1970)	March 20, 1929 – January 12, 1931 (term-limited)	Democratic	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
9			William H. Murray (1869–1956)	January 12, 1931 – January 14, 1935 (term-limited)	Democratic	1930		Burns, RobertRobert Burns
10			E. W. Marland (1874–1941)	January 14, 1935 – January 9, 1939 (term-limited)	Democratic	1934		Berry, James E.James E. Berry
11			Leon C. Phillips (1890–1958)	January 9, 1939 – January 11, 1943 (term-limited)	Democratic	1938
12			Robert S. Kerr (1896–1963)	January 11, 1943 – January 13, 1947 (term-limited)	Democratic	1942
13			Roy J. Turner (1894–1973)	January 13, 1947 – January 8, 1951 (term-limited)	Democratic	1946
14			Johnston Murray (1902–1974)	January 8, 1951 – January 10, 1955 (term-limited)	Democratic	1950
15			Raymond D. Gary (1908–1993)	January 10, 1955 – January 12, 1959 (term-limited)	Democratic	1954		Williams, Cowboy PinkCowboy Pink Williams
16			J. Howard Edmondson (1925–1971)	January 12, 1959 – January 6, 1963 (resigned)	Democratic	1958		Nigh, GeorgeGeorge Nigh
17			George Nigh (b. 1927)	January 6, 1963 – January 14, 1963 (successor took office)	Democratic	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
18			Henry Bellmon (1921–2009)	January 14, 1963 – January 9, 1967 (term-limited)	Republican	1962		Winters, LeoLeo Winters
19			Dewey F. Bartlett (1919–1979)	January 9, 1967 – January 11, 1971 (lost election)	Republican	1966		Nigh, GeorgeGeorge Nigh
20			David Hall (1930–2016)	January 11, 1971 – January 13, 1975 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1970
21			David Boren (b. 1941)	January 13, 1975 – January 2, 1979 (resigned)	Democratic	1974
22			George Nigh (b. 1927)	January 3, 1979 – January 12, 1987 (term-limited)	Democratic	Succeeded from lieutenant governor		Bernard, SpencerSpencer Bernard
						1978
						1982
23			Henry Bellmon (1921–2009)	January 12, 1987 – January 14, 1991 (did not run)	Republican	1986		Kerr III, Robert S.Robert S. Kerr III
24			David Walters (b. 1951)	January 14, 1991 – January 9, 1995 (did not run)	Democratic	1990		Mildren, JackJack Mildren
25			Frank Keating (b. 1944)	January 9, 1995 – January 13, 2003 (term-limited)	Republican	1994		Fallin, MaryMary Fallin
						1998
26			Brad Henry (b. 1963)	January 13, 2003 – January 10, 2011 (term-limited)	Democratic	2002
						2006		Askins, JariJari Askins
27			Mary Fallin (b. 1954)	January 10, 2011 – January 14, 2019 (term-limited)	Republican	2010		Lamb, ToddTodd Lamb
						2014
28			Kevin Stitt (b. 1972)	January 14, 2019 – Incumbent	Republican	2018		Pinnell, MattMatt Pinnell
						2022