List of governors of West Virginia

The governor of West Virginia is the head of government of West Virginia^[2] and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.^[3] The governor has a duty to enforce state laws,^[2] and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the West Virginia Legislature,^[4] to convene the legislature at any time,^[5] and, except when prosecution has been carried out by the House of Delegates, to grant pardons and reprieves.^[6]

Governor of West Virginia
Seal of the governor
Incumbent Patrick Morrisey since January 13, 2025
Style	Governor (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Status	Head of state Head of government
Residence	West Virginia Governor's Mansion
Term length	Four years, renewable once consecutively
Inaugural holder	Arthur I. Boreman
Formation	June 20, 1863
Salary	$150,000 (2022)[1]
Website	governor.wv.gov

Since West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, during the American Civil War, 35 men have served as governor ^{[needs update]}. Two, Arch A. Moore Jr. (West Virginia's 28th and 30th governor) and Cecil H. Underwood (West Virginia's 25th and 32nd governor), served two nonconsecutive terms in office. The longest-serving governor was Moore, who served for three terms over twelve years. The state's first governor after admission into the Union, Arthur I. Boreman, served the most consecutive terms, resigning a week before the end of his third term. Before the state's admission, Francis Harrison Pierpont, the "Father of West Virginia,"^[7] was elected governor during the Wheeling Convention of 1861. Daniel D.T. Farnsworth was senate president at the time; he filled the last seven days of Boreman's term and remains the shortest-serving governor. Underwood has the unusual distinction of being both the youngest person to be elected as governor (age 34 upon his first term in 1957) and the oldest to both be elected and serve (age 74 upon his second term in 1997; age 78 at the end of his second term in 2001). The current governor is Republican Patrick Morrisey, who assumed office on January 13, 2025.

To serve as governor, a person must be at least 30 years old, and must have been a citizen of West Virginia for at least five years at the time of inauguration.^[8] Under the current Constitution of West Virginia, ratified in 1872, the governor serves a four-year term commencing on the third Wednesday in January, following an election.^[8] The original constitution of 1863 only called for a two-year term.^[9] Since 1968, a governor may be reelected any number of times, but not more than twice in a row.^[10] Any partial term served counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms.^[10]

The constitution makes no mention of a lieutenant governor; if the governorship becomes vacant, the senate president stands first in the line of succession. If more than one year remains in the governor's term at the time of vacancy, a new election is held for the balance of the term. If less than a year remains, the senate president acts as governor for the remainder of the term.^[11] A bill passed in 2000 grants the senate president the honorary title of lieutenant governor,^[12] but this title is rarely used in practice and the terms of the senate president do not correspond with governorships. The same bill states that the line of succession after the senate president will be the speaker of the House of Delegates, followed by the state attorney general, the state auditor and former governors, in inverse order of term, that are in residence in the state at the time of the vacancy.^[12]

Qualifications

Anyone who seeks to be elected Governor of West Virginia must meet the following qualifications:^[13]

• Be a citizen of the United States
• Be a resident of West Virginia for at least five years preceding the election
• Be a duly qualified elector of West Virginia
• Be at least 30 years old

Governors

Governors of the State of West Virginia

No.	Governor			Term in office	Party	Election
1			Arthur I. Boreman (1823–1896) [14][15]	June 20, 1863[16] – February 26, 1869 (resigned)[a]	Republican[17]	1863
						1864
						1866
2			Daniel D. T. Farnsworth (1819–1892) [18][19]	February 26, 1869[20] – March 4, 1869 (successor took office)	Republican[17]	President of the Senate acting
3			William E. Stevenson (1820–1883) [21][22]	March 4, 1869[23] – March 4, 1871 (lost election)	Republican[17]	1868
4			John J. Jacob (1829–1893) [24][25]	March 4, 1871[26] – March 4, 1877 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[28]	1870
					People's Independent[28]	1872
5			Henry M. Mathews (1834–1884) [29][30]	March 4, 1877[c] – March 4, 1881 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1876
6			Jacob B. Jackson (1829–1893) [32][33]	March 4, 1881[34] – March 4, 1885 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1880
7			Emanuel Willis Wilson (1844–1905) [35][36]	March 4, 1885[37] – February 6, 1890 (term-limited)[d]	Democratic[17]	1884
8			Aretas B. Fleming (1839–1923) [38][39]	February 6, 1890[40] – March 4, 1893 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1888
9			William A. MacCorkle (1857–1930) [41][42]	March 4, 1893[43] – March 4, 1897 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1892
10			George W. Atkinson (1845–1925) [44][45]	March 4, 1897[46] – March 4, 1901 (term-limited)[b]	Republican[17]	1896
11			Albert B. White (1856–1941) [47][48]	March 4, 1901[49] – March 4, 1905 (term-limited)[b]	Republican[17]	1900
12			William M. O. Dawson (1853–1916) [50][51]	March 4, 1905[52] – March 4, 1909 (term-limited)[b]	Republican[17]	1904
13			William E. Glasscock (1862–1925) [53][54]	March 4, 1909[55] – March 4, 1913 (term-limited)[b]	Republican[17]	1908
14			Henry D. Hatfield (1875–1962) [56][57]	March 4, 1913[58] – March 4, 1917 (term-limited)[b]	Republican[17]	1912
15			John J. Cornwell (1867–1953) [59][60]	March 4, 1917[61] – March 4, 1921 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1916
16			Ephraim F. Morgan (1869–1950) [62][63]	March 4, 1921[64] – March 4, 1925 (term-limited)[b]	Republican[17]	1920
17			Howard Mason Gore (1877–1947) [65][66]	March 4, 1925[67] – March 4, 1929 (term-limited)[b]	Republican[17]	1924
18			William G. Conley (1866–1940) [68][69]	March 4, 1929[70] – March 4, 1933 (term-limited)[b]	Republican[17]	1928
19			Herman G. Kump (1877–1962) [71][72]	March 4, 1933[73] – January 18, 1937 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1932
20			Homer A. Holt (1898–1975) [74][75]	January 18, 1937[76] – January 13, 1941 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1936
21			Matthew M. Neely (1874–1958) [77][78]	January 13, 1941[79] – January 15, 1945 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1940
22			Clarence W. Meadows (1904–1961) [80][81]	January 15, 1945[82] – January 17, 1949 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1944
23			Okey Patteson (1898–1989) [83][84]	January 17, 1949[85] – January 19, 1953 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1948
24			William C. Marland (1918–1965) [86][87]	January 19, 1953[88] – January 14, 1957 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1952
25			Cecil H. Underwood (1922–2008) [89][90]	January 14, 1957[91] – January 16, 1961 (term-limited)[b]	Republican[17]	1956
26			Wally Barron (1911–2002) [92][93]	January 16, 1961[94] – January 18, 1965 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1960
27			Hulett C. Smith (1918–2012) [95][96]	January 18, 1965[97] – January 13, 1969 (term-limited)[b]	Democratic[17]	1964
28			Arch A. Moore Jr. (1923–2015) [98][99]	January 13, 1969[100] – January 17, 1977 (term-limited)[e]	Republican[17]	1968
						1972
29			Jay Rockefeller (b. 1937) [102][103]	January 17, 1977[104] – January 14, 1985 (term-limited)[e]	Democratic[103]	1976
						1980
30			Arch A. Moore Jr. (1923–2015) [98][99]	January 14, 1985[105] – January 16, 1989 (lost election)	Republican[99]	1984
31			Gaston Caperton (b. 1940) [106]	January 16, 1989[107] – January 13, 1997 (term-limited)[e]	Democratic[106]	1988
						1992
32			Cecil H. Underwood (1922–2008) [89][90]	January 13, 1997[108] – January 15, 2001 (lost election)	Republican[90]	1996
33			Bob Wise (b. 1948) [109]	January 15, 2001[110] – January 17, 2005 (did not run)	Democratic[109]	2000
34			Joe Manchin (b. 1947) [111]	January 17, 2005[112] – November 15, 2010 (resigned)[f]	Democratic[111]	2004
						2008
35			Earl Ray Tomblin (b. 1952) [113]	November 15, 2010[114] – January 16, 2017 (term-limited)[e]	Democratic[113]	President of the Senate acting
						2011 (special)
						2012
36			Jim Justice (b. 1951) [115]	January 16, 2017[116] – January 13, 2025 (term-limited)[e]	Democratic[g]	2016
					Republican[115]	2020
37			Patrick Morrisey (b. 1967) [118]	January 13, 2025[119] – Incumbent[h]	Republican[118]	2024

See also

• Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States § West Virginia
• List of West Virginia state legislatures

Notes

1. Boreman resigned, having been elected to the United States Senate.^[14]
2. Under the 1872 constitution, governors were ineligible for four years after the end of their term.^[27]
3. The constitutional start date of the gubernatorial term was March 4, with no requirement for an oath; Mathews was not sworn in until March 5, presumably because March 4 was a Sunday.^[31]
4. The 1888 election was disputed, ^[b]and Wilson remained as governor until the investigation was complete.^[35]
5. Under a 1970 amendment to the constitution, governors who have served two consecutive terms are ineligible for the next term.^[101]
6. Manchin resigned, having been elected to the United States Senate.^[111]
7. Justice switched to the Republican Party in August 2017.^[117]
8. Morrisey's term will expire on January 15, 2029.