List of Governors of New Mexico

Number of Governors of New Mexico by party affiliation[1]
Party Governors
Democratic 19
Republican 11

The following is a list of the Governors of the State of New Mexico and New Mexico Territory.

Twenty-six individuals have held the office of governor of New Mexico since the state's admission to the Union in 1912, two of whom—Edwin L. Mechem and Bruce King—served three non-consecutive terms. William C. McDonald, the first governor, took office on January 6, 1912. The current governor is Bill Richardson, who took office on January 1, 2003; his term will expire in January 2011.

Contents

Governors

Governors of New Mexico Territory

# Name Took office Left office Party Notes
1 Charles Bent 1846 1847 [2]
2 James S. Calhoun 1851 1852 Whig [3]
3 William Carr Lane 1852 1853 Whig
4 David Meriwether 1853 1857 Democrat
5 Abraham Rencher 1857 1861 Democrat
6 Henry Connelly 1861 1866 Republican [4]
7 Robert Byington Mitchell 1866 1869 Democratic
8 William Anderson Pile 1869 1871 Republican
9 Marsh Giddings 1871 1875 Republican
10 Samuel Beach Axtell 1875 1878 Republican [5]
11 Lew Wallace 1878 1881 Republican
12 Lionel Allen Sheldon 1881 1885 Republican
13 Edmund G. Ross 1885 1889 Democrat
14 L. Bradford Prince 1889 1893 Republican
15 William Taylor Thornton 1893 1897 Democrat
16 Miguel A. Otero 1897 1906 Republican
17 Herbert James Hagerman 1906 1907 Republican
18 George Curry 1907 1910 Republican [6]
19 William J. Mills 1910 1912 Republican

Governors of New Mexico

# Name Took office Left office Party Notes
1 William C. McDonald January 6, 1912 January 1, 1917 Democratic
2 Ezequiel C. de Baca January 1, 1917 February 28, 1917 Democratic [7]
3 Washington E. Lindsey February 28, 1917 January 1, 1919 Republican [8]
4 Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo January 1, 1919 January 1, 1921 Republican
5 Merritt C. Mechem January 1, 1921 January 1, 1923 Republican
6 James F. Hinkle January 1, 1923 January 1, 1925 Democratic
7 Arthur T. Hannett January 1, 1925 January 1, 1927 Democratic
8 Richard C. Dillon January 1, 1927 January 1, 1931 Republican
9 Arthur Seligman January 1, 1931 September 25, 1933 Democratic [7]
10 Andrew W. Hockenhull September 25, 1933 January 1, 1935 Democratic [8]
11 Clyde Tingley January 1, 1935 January 1, 1939 Democratic
12 John E. Miles January 1, 1939 January 1, 1943 Democratic
13 John J. Dempsey January 1, 1943 January 1, 1947 Democratic
14 Thomas J. Mabry January 1, 1947 January 1, 1951 Democratic
15 Edwin L. Mechem January 1, 1951 January 1, 1955 Republican
16 John F. Simms January 1, 1955 January 1, 1957 Democratic
15 Edwin L. Mechem January 1, 1957 January 1, 1959 Republican
17 John Burroughs January 1, 1959 January 1, 1961 Democratic
15 Edwin L. Mechem January 1, 1961 November 30, 1962 Republican [9]
18 Tom Bolack November 30, 1962 January 1, 1963 Republican [8]
19 Jack M. Campbell January 1, 1963 January 1, 1967 Democratic
20 David F. Cargo January 1, 1967 January 1, 1971 Republican
21 Bruce King January 1, 1971 January 1, 1975 Democratic
22 Jerry Apodaca January 1, 1975 January 1, 1979 Democratic
21 Bruce King January 1, 1979 January 1, 1983 Democratic
23 Toney Anaya January 1, 1983 January 1, 1987 Democratic
24 Garrey Carruthers January 1, 1987 January 1, 1991 Republican
21 Bruce King January 1, 1991 January 1, 1995 Democratic
25 Gary E. Johnson January 1, 1995 January 1, 2003 Republican
26 Bill Richardson January 1, 2003 Incumbent Democratic [10]

Notes

  1. ↑ Table only includes state governors; 26 people have served as governor, two thrice; the table includes these non-consecutive terms as well.
  2. ↑ Stephen W. Kearny declared New Mexico a territory in 1846 and installed Charles Bent as Governor. Congress revoked Kearny's declaration in 1847, thus New Mexico had no Governor from 1847 to 1851.
  3. ↑ James Calhoun resigned in 1852 to return to his native state of Georgia
  4. ↑ The territory broke into two, and then three during Connelly's tenure due to the civil war and administrative problems (see: Arizona Territory and Arizona Territory (CSA))
  5. ↑ Samuel Axtell was suspended by the Secretary of the Interior for misconduct in 1878.
  6. ↑ George Curry resigned in 1910 to be a framer in the New Mexico Constitutional Convention.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Died in office.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 As lieutenant governor, filled unexpired term.
  9. ↑ Resigned to be appointed to the United States Senate by his successor.
  10. ↑ Governor Richardson's second term expires in 2011; he is term limited.

Higher offices held

This is a table of the higher federal offices and other governorships held by governors. All representatives and senators represented New Mexico. * denotes offices that the governor resigned to take.

Name Gubernatorial term Higher offices held
Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo 1919–1921 U.S. Senator
John E. Miles 1939–1943 U.S. Representative
John J. Dempsey 1943–1947 U.S. Representative
Edwin L. Mechem 1951–1955, 1957–1959, 1961–1962 U.S. Senator*
Bill Richardson 2003–present U.S. Representative, U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ambassador to the United Nations

Living former governors

As of July 2007, six former governors were alive, the oldest being Bruce King (1971–1975, 1979–1983, 1991–1995, born 1924). The most recent governor to die was Edwin L. Mechem (1951–1955, 1957–1959, 1961–1962), on November 27, 2002. The most recently-serving governor to die was Jack M. Campbell (1963–1967), on June 14, 1999.

Name Gubernatorial term Date of birth
David F. Cargo 1967–1971 January 13, 1929
Bruce King 1971–1975, 1979–1983, 1991–1995 April 6, 1924
Jerry Apodaca 1975–1979 October 3, 1934
Toney Anaya 1983–1987 April 29, 1941
Garrey Carruthers 1987–1991 August 29, 1939
Gary E. Johnson 1995–2003 January 1, 1953

See also


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President
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Defunct
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