Governor | Term Start | Term End | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac Shelby | Jun 4, 1792 | Jun 7, 1796 | Democratic-Republican |
| James Garrard | Jun 7, 1796 | Sep 5, 1804 | Democratic-Republican |
| Christopher Greenup | Sep 5, 1804 | Sep 1, 1808 | Democratic-Republican |
| Charles Scott | Sep 1, 1808 | Aug 24, 1812 | Democratic-Republican |
| Isaac Shelby | Aug 24, 1812 | Sep 5, 1816 | Democratic-Republican |
| George Madison | Sep 5, 1816 | Oct 14, 1816 | Democratic-Republican |
| Gabriel Slaughter | Oct 14, 1816 | Aug 29, 1820 | Democratic-Republican |
| John Adair | Aug 29, 1820 | Aug 24, 1824 | Democratic-Republican |
| Joseph Desha | Aug 24, 1824 | Aug 26, 1828 | Democratic-Republican |
| Thomas Metcalfe | Aug 26, 1828 | Sep 4, 1832 | National Republican |
| John Breathitt | Sep 4, 1832 | Feb 21, 1834 | Democratic |
| James Turner Morehead | Feb 21, 1834 | Aug 30, 1836 | National Republican |
| James Clark | Aug 30, 1836 | Aug 27, 1839 | Whig |
| Charles A. Wickliffe | Aug 27, 1839 | Sep 2, 1840 | Whig |
| Robert P. Letcher | Sep 2, 1840 | Sep 4, 1844 | Whig |
| William Owsley | Sep 4, 1844 | Sep 6, 1848 | Whig |
| John J. Crittenden | Sep 6, 1848 | Jul 31, 1850 | Whig |
| John L. Helm | Jul 31, 1850 | Sep 2, 1851 | Whig |
| Lazarus W. Powell | Sep 2, 1851 | Sep 4, 1855 | Democratic |
| Charles S. Morehead | Sep 4, 1855 | Aug 30, 1859 | Know Nothing |
| Beriah Magoffin | Aug 30, 1859 | Aug 18, 1862 | Democratic |
| James Fisher Robinson | Aug 18, 1862 | Sep 1, 1863 | Democratic |
| Thomas E. Bramlette | Sep 1, 1863 | Sep 3, 1867 | Democratic |
| John L. Helm | Sep 3, 1867 | Sep 8, 1867 | Democratic |
| John W. Stevenson | Sep 8, 1867 | Feb 3, 1871 | Democratic |
| Preston Leslie | Feb 3, 1871 | Aug 31, 1875 | Democratic |
| James B. McCreary | Aug 31, 1875 | Sep 2, 1879 | Democratic |
| Luke P. Blackburn | Sep 2, 1879 | Sep 5, 1883 | Democratic |
| J. Proctor Knott | Sep 5, 1883 | Aug 30, 1887 | Democratic |
| Simon Bolivar Buckner | Aug 30, 1887 | Sep 2, 1891 | Democratic |
| John Y. Brown | Sep 2, 1891 | Dec 10, 1895 | Democratic |
| William O'Connell Bradley | Dec 10, 1895 | Dec 12, 1899 | Republican |
| William S. Taylor | Dec 12, 1899 | Jan 31, 1900 | Republican |
| William Goebel | Jan 31, 1900 | Feb 3, 1900 | Democratic |
| J. C. W. Beckham | Feb 3, 1900 | Dec 10, 1907 | Democratic |
| Augustus E. Willson | Dec 10, 1907 | Dec 12, 1911 | Republican |
| James B. McCreary | Dec 12, 1911 | Dec 7, 1915 | Democratic |
| Augustus Owsley Stanley | Dec 7, 1915 | May 19, 1919 | Democratic |
| James D. Black | May 19, 1919 | Dec 9, 1919 | Democratic |
| Edwin P. Morrow | Dec 9, 1919 | Dec 11, 1923 | Republican |
| William J. Fields | Dec 11, 1923 | Dec 13, 1927 | Democratic |
| Flem D. Sampson | Dec 13, 1927 | Dec 8, 1931 | Republican |
| Ruby Laffoon | Dec 8, 1931 | Dec 10, 1935 | Democratic |
| Happy Chandler | Dec 10, 1935 | Oct 9, 1939 | Democratic |
| Keen Johnson | Oct 9, 1939 | Dec 7, 1943 | Democratic |
| Simeon Willis | Dec 7, 1943 | Dec 9, 1947 | Republican |
| Earle Clements | Dec 9, 1947 | Nov 27, 1950 | Democratic |
| Lawrence Wetherby | Nov 27, 1950 | Dec 13, 1955 | Democratic |
| Happy Chandler | Dec 13, 1955 | Dec 8, 1959 | Democratic |
| Bert Combs | Dec 8, 1959 | Dec 10, 1963 | Democratic |
| Ned Breathitt | Dec 10, 1963 | Dec 12, 1967 | Democratic |
| Louie Nunn | Dec 12, 1967 | Dec 7, 1971 | Republican |
| Wendell Ford | Dec 7, 1971 | Dec 28, 1974 | Democratic |
| Julian Carroll | Dec 28, 1974 | Dec 11, 1979 | Democratic |
| John Y. Brown Jr. | Dec 11, 1979 | Dec 13, 1983 | Democratic |
| Martha Layne Collins | Dec 13, 1983 | Dec 8, 1987 | Democratic |
| Wallace Wilkinson | Dec 8, 1987 | Dec 10, 1991 | Democratic |
| Brereton Jones | Dec 10, 1991 | Dec 12, 1995 | Democratic |
| Paul E. Patton | Dec 12, 1995 | Dec 9, 2003 | Democratic |
| Ernie Fletcher | Dec 9, 2003 | Dec 11, 2007 | Republican |
| Steve Beshear | Dec 11, 2007 | Dec 8, 2015 | Democratic |
| Matt Bevin | Dec 8, 2015 | Dec 10, 2019 | Republican |
| Andy Beshear | Dec 10, 2019 | - | Democratic |
Kentucky is an old state and has a long line of Kentucky governors, spanning several decades and political parties. The first governor of Kentucky was Isaac Shelby, who was elected in 1792. Shelby served as governor for four years and represented the Democratic-Republican Party. Following Selby, eight more Democratic-Republican governors took office. Kentucky has also had governors from the National Republican Party, the Know Nothing Party, and the Whig Party.
Democratic governors had a stranglehold on Kentucky politics, with almost 40 years of Democratic governors from 1859 until 1895. Since then, Democratic governors have continued to dominate the Kentucky political scene, although occasionally, a Republican governor is elected to office. Most Kentucky governors serve four years and are simply removed from their political position because their term is officially ended.
The current governor of Kentucky is Andy Beshear, who was elected in 2019. He is a member of the Democratic political party. Beshear works as an attorney but has a family history rooted in Kentucky politics. Andy Beshear is the son of the 61st governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear. Andy Beshear narrowly won the election, defeating his opponent by 0.4% of the total vote.
The current governor of Kentucky is Andy Beshear, a Democrat.
There have been 59 governors of Kentucky, 34 Democrats, 9 Republicans, and 17 from other parties.
The last Democratic governor in Kentucky is Andy Beshear, who has served from 2019 to the present day.
The last Republican governor in Kentucky was Matt Bevin, who served from 2015 to 2019.