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New Jersey Governors

New Jersey Governors, 1776-present

Source: National Governors Association

 

Governors under the 1776 New Jersey Constitution (1776–1844)

(elected by the legislature for one-year terms with no term limits)

 

1 William Livingston 1776–1790
2 William Paterson 1790–1793
NA Thomas Henderson 1793
3 Richard Howell 1793–1801
4 Joseph Bloomfield 1801–1802
John Lambert* 1802–1803
Joseph Bloomfield 1803–1812
5 Aaron Ogden 1812–1813
6 William Sanford Pennington 1813–1815
7 Mahlon Dickerson 1815–1817
8 Isaac Halstead Williamson 1817–1829
9 Peter Dumont Vroom 1829–1832
10 Samuel Lewis Southard 1832–1833
11 Elias P. Seeley 1833
Peter Dumont Vroom 1833–1836
12 Philemon Dickerson 1836–1837
13 William Pennington 1837–1843
14 Daniel Haines 1843–1845

 

Governors under the 1844 N.J. Constitution (1844–1946)

(elected by the people for a three-year term but unable to serve consecutive terms)

 

15 Charles C. Stratton 1845–1848 Whig
Daniel Haines 1848–1851 Democrat
16 George F. Fort 1851–1854 Democrat
17 Rodman M. Price 1854–1857 Democrat
18 William A. Newell 1857–1860 Republican
19 Charles S. Olden 1860–1863 Republican
20 Joel Parker 1863–1866 Democrat
21 Marcus L. Ward 1866–1869 Republican
22 Theodore F. Randolph 1869–1872 Democrat
Joel Parker 1872–1875 Democrat
23 Joseph D. Bedle 1875–1878 Democrat
24 George Brinton McClellan 1878–1881 Democrat
25 George C. Ludlow 1881–1884 Democrat
26 Leon Abbett 1884–1887 Democrat
27 Robert Stockton Green 1887–1890 Democrat
Leon Abbett 1890–1893 Democrat
28 George T. Werts 1893–1896 Democrat
29 John W. Griggs 1 1896–1898 Republican
Foster M. Voorhees* 1898 Republican
David Ogden Watkins* 1898–1899
30 Foster M. Voorhees 1899–1902 Republican
31 Franklin Murphy 1902–1905 Republican
32 Edward C. Stokes 1905–1908 Republican
33 John Franklin Fort 1908–1910 Republican
Horace Baker* 1910–1911 Republican
34 Woodrow Wilson 2 1911–1913 Democrat
James F. Fielder* 1913 Democrat
Leon R. Taylor* 1913–1914
35 James F. Fielder 1914–1917 Democrat
36 Walter Evans Edge 3 1917–1919 Republican
William Nelson Runyon* 1919–1920 Republican
Clarence E. Case* 1920 Republican
37 Edward I. Edwards 1920–1923 Democrat
38 George Sebastian Silzer 1923–1926 Democrat
39 A. Harry Moore 1926–1929 Democrat
40 Morgan Foster Larson 1929–1932 Republican
A. Harry Moore 3 1932–1935 Democrat
Clifford Ross Powell* 1935 Republican
Horace Griggs Prall* 1935 Republican
41 Harold G. Hoffman 1935–1938 Republican
A. Harry Moore 1938–1941 Democrat
42 Charles Edison 1941–1944 Democrat
Walter Evans Edge 1944–1947 Republican

* Acting governor.

1 Resigned as Governor to become Attorney General of the United States
2 Resigned as Governor to become President of the United States
3 Resigned as Governor to become a United States Senator

Governors under the 1947 N.J. Constitution (1947—present)

(Governors elected by the people for a four-year term, but limited to two consecutive terms)

 

43 Alfred E. Driscoll 1947–1954 Republican
44 Robert B. Meyner 1954–1962 Democrat
45 Richard J. Hughes 1962–1970 Democrat
46 William T. Cahill 1970–1974 Republican
47 Brendan T. Byrne 1974–1982 Democrat
48 Thomas H. Kean 1982–1990 Republican
49 James J. Florio 1990–1994 Democrat
50 Christine Todd Whitman 1 1994–2001 Republican
51 Donald DiFrancesco 2 2001–2002 Republican
John Farmer Jr.* 2002 Republican
John O. Bennett* 2002 Republican
Richard Codey* 2002 Democrat
52 James E. McGreevey 3 2002–2004 Democrat
53 Richard Codey 4 2004–2006 Democrat
54 Jon S. Corzine 2006-2010 Democrat
55 Christopher J. Christie 2010-2018 Republican
56 Phil Murphy 2018- Democrat

* Acting governor.

1 Governor Christine Todd Whitman resigned as governor effective January 31, 2001 to accept appointment by President George W. Bush as Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency.

2 Senate President Donald T. DiFrancesco succeeeded Governor Christine Todd Whitman as Acting Governor upon her resignation effective January 31, 2001 and served until the inauguration on January 8, 2002 of Governor James E. McGreevey DiFrancesco’s title was officially Acting Governor until it was changed retroactively by legislation passed on January 10, 2006 to designate those who had served for a consective 180 days as acting governor with the title of governor.

3 Governor James E. McGreevey resigned as Governor effective November 15, 2004 and was succeeded by Senate President Richard Codey.

4 Senate President Richard Codey succeeded Governor James E. McGreevey as Acting Governor upon his resignation effective JNovember 15, 2004 and served until the inauguration on January 17, 2006 of Governor Jon S. Corzine. Codey’s title was officially Acting Governor until it was changed retroactively by legislation passed on January 10, 2006 to designate those who had served for a consective 180 days as acting governor with the title of governor.