List of governors of Kansas

The Governor of the State of Kansas is the head of state for the State of Kansas. Under the Kansas Constitution, the Governor is also the head of government. The Governor is the Commander-in-Chief of the Kansas National Guard when not called into Federal use.

Governor of Kansas
State Seal
Standard of the Governor
Incumbent Laura Kelly since January 14, 2019
Residence	Cedar Crest
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Charles L. Robinson
Formation	February 9, 1861
Salary	$99,636 (2017)[1]
Website	governor.kansas.gov

Kansas has had 47 governors since becoming a state.

The current governor is Laura Kelly. She started on January 14, 2019.

Since 1962, the governor lives in the governor's mansion.

List of Governors

Governors of Kansas Territory

Governors of the Territory of Kansas

No.	Governor		Term in office	Appointed by
1		Andrew Horatio Reeder	July 7, 1854 – August 16, 1855	Franklin Pierce
2		Wilson Shannon	September 5, 1855 – August 18, 1856
3		John W. Geary	September 9, 1856 – March 20, 1857
4		Robert J. Walker	May 27, 1857 – December 15, 1857	James Buchanan
5		James W. Denver	December 1857 – November 1858
6		Samuel Medary	December 1858 – December 1860

Governors of Kansas

Governors of the State of Kansas

No.	Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor[a]
7			Charles L. Robinson	February 9, 1861 – January 12, 1863 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1860		Joseph Pomeroy Root
8			Thomas Carney	January 12, 1863 – January 9, 1865 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1862		Thomas A. Osborn
9			Samuel J. Crawford	January 9, 1865 – November 4, 1868 (resigned)[b]	Republican	1864		James McGrew
						1866		Nehemiah Green
10			Nehemiah Green	November 4, 1868 – January 11, 1869 (successor took office)	Republican	Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor	Vacant
11			James M. Harvey	January 11, 1869 – January 13, 1873 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1868		Charles Vernon Eskridge
						1870		Peter Percival Elder
12			Thomas A. Osborn	January 13, 1873 – January 8, 1877 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1872		Elias S. Stover
						1874		Melville J. Salter
13			George T. Anthony	January 8, 1877 – January 13, 1879 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1876
								Lyman U. Humphrey
14			John St. John	January 13, 1879 – January 8, 1883 (lost election)	Republican	1878
						1880		David Wesley Finney[c]
15			George Washington Glick	January 8, 1883 – January 12, 1885 (lost election)	Democratic	1882
16			John Martin	January 12, 1885 – January 14, 1889 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1884		Alexander P. Riddle
						1886
17			Lyman U. Humphrey	January 14, 1889 – January 8, 1893 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1888		Andrew Jackson Felt
						1890
18			Lorenzo D. Lewelling	January 8, 1893 – January 14, 1895 (lost election)	Populist	1892		Percy Daniels
19			Edmund Needham Morrill	January 14, 1895 – January 11, 1897 (lost election)	Republican	1894		James Armstrong Troutman
20			John W. Leedy	January 11, 1897 – January 9, 1899 (lost election)	Populist	1896		Alexander Miller Harvey
21			William Eugene Stanley	January 9, 1899 – January 12, 1903 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1898		Harry E. Richter
						1900
22			Willis J. Bailey	January 12, 1903 – January 9, 1905 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1902		David John Hanna
23			Edward W. Hoch	January 9, 1905 – January 11, 1909 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1904
						1906		William James Fitzgerald
24			Walter R. Stubbs	January 11, 1909 – January 13, 1913 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1908
						1910		Richard Joseph Hopkins
25			George H. Hodges	January 13, 1913 – January 11, 1915 (lost election)	Democratic	1912		Sheffield Ingalls[c]
26			Arthur Capper	January 11, 1915 – January 13, 1919 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1914		William Yoast Morgan
						1916
27			Henry Justin Allen	January 13, 1919 – January 8, 1923 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1918		Charles Solomon Huffman
						1920
28			Jonathan M. Davis	January 8, 1923 – January 12, 1925 (lost election)	Democratic	1922		Benjamin S. Paulen[c]
29			Benjamin S. Paulen	January 12, 1925 – January 14, 1929 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1924		De Lanson Alson Newton Chase
						1926
30			Clyde M. Reed	January 14, 1929 – January 12, 1931 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1928		Jacob W. Graybill[c]
31			Harry Hines Woodring	January 12, 1931 – January 9, 1933 (lost election)	Democratic	1930
32			Alf Landon	January 9, 1933 – January 11, 1937 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1932		Charles W. Thompson
						1934
33			Walter A. Huxman	January 11, 1937 – January 9, 1939 (lost election)	Democratic	1936		William M. Lindsay
34			Payne Ratner	January 9, 1939 – January 11, 1943 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1938		Carl E. Friend
						1940
35			Andrew Frank Schoeppel	January 11, 1943 – January 13, 1947 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1942		Jess C. Denious
						1944
36			Frank Carlson	January 13, 1947 – November 28, 1950 (resigned)[d]	Republican	1946		Frank L. Hagaman
						1948
37			Frank L. Hagaman	November 28, 1950 – January 8, 1951 (successor took office)	Republican	Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor	Vacant
38			Edward F. Arn	January 8, 1951 – January 10, 1955 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1950		Fred Hall
						1952
39			Fred Hall	January 10, 1955 – January 3, 1957 (resigned)[e]	Republican	1954		John McCuish
40			John McCuish	January 3, 1957 – January 14, 1957 (successor took office)	Republican	Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor	Vacant
41			George Docking	January 14, 1957 – January 9, 1961 (lost election)	Democratic	1956		Joseph W. Henkle Sr.
						1958
42			John Anderson Jr.	January 9, 1961 – January 11, 1965 (not candidate for election)	Republican	1960		Harold H. Chase
						1962
43			William H. Avery	January 11, 1965 – January 9, 1967 (lost election)	Republican	1964		John Crutcher[c]
44			Robert Docking	January 9, 1967 – January 13, 1975 (term limited)	Democratic	1966
						1968		James H. DeCoursey Jr.
						1970		Reynolds Shultz[c]
						1972		Dave Owen[c]
45			Robert Frederick Bennett	January 13, 1975 – January 8, 1979 (lost election)	Republican	1974[f]		Shelby Smith
46			John W. Carlin	January 8, 1979 – January 12, 1987 (term limited)	Democratic	1978		Paul Dugan
						1982		Thomas Docking
47			Mike Hayden	January 12, 1987 – January 14, 1991 (lost election)	Republican	1986		Jack D. Walker
48			Joan Finney	January 14, 1991 – January 9, 1995 (not candidate for election)	Democratic	1990		Jim Francisco
49			Bill Graves	January 9, 1995 – January 13, 2003 (term limited)	Republican	1994		Sheila Frahm (resigned June 11, 1996)
							Vacant
								Gary Sherrer (appointed July 18, 1996)
						1998
50			Kathleen Sebelius	January 13, 2003 – April 28, 2009 (resigned)[g]	Democratic	2002		John E. Moore
						2006		Mark Parkinson
51			Mark Parkinson	April 28, 2009 – January 10, 2011 (not candidate for election)	Democratic	Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor	Vacant
								Troy Findley (appointed May 15, 2009)
52			Sam Brownback	January 10, 2011 – January 31, 2018 (resigned)[h]	Republican	2010		Jeff Colyer
						2014
53			Jeff Colyer	January 31, 2018 – January 14, 2019 (not candidate for election)	Republican	Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor		Tracey Mann (appointed February 14, 2018)
54			Laura Kelly	January 14, 2019 – present[i]	Democratic	2018		Lynn Rogers