Governor | Term Start | Term End | Party |
---|---|---|---|
Stevens T. Mason | Nov 3, 1835 | Jan 7, 1840 | Democratic |
William Woodbridge | Jan 7, 1840 | Feb 23, 1841 | Whig |
James Wright Gordon | Feb 23, 1841 | Jan 3, 1842 | Whig |
John S. Barry | Jan 3, 1842 | Jan 5, 1846 | Democratic |
Alpheus Felch | Jan 5, 1846 | Mar 3, 1847 | Democratic |
William L. Greenly | Mar 4, 1847 | Jan 3, 1848 | Democratic |
Epaphroditus Ransom | Jan 3, 1848 | Jan 7, 1850 | Democratic |
John S. Barry | Jan 7, 1850 | Jan 1, 1852 | Democratic |
Robert McClelland | Jan 1, 1852 | Mar 7, 1853 | Democratic |
Andrew Parsons | Mar 8, 1853 | Jan 3, 1855 | Democratic |
Kinsley S. Bingham | Jan 3, 1855 | Jan 5, 1859 | Republican |
Moses Wisner | Jan 5, 1859 | Jan 2, 1861 | Republican |
Austin Blair | Jan 2, 1861 | Jan 3, 1865 | Republican |
Henry H. Crapo | Jan 3, 1865 | Jan 6, 1869 | Republican |
Henry P. Baldwin | Jan 6, 1869 | Jan 1, 1873 | Republican |
John J. Bagley | Jan 1, 1873 | Jan 3, 1877 | Republican |
Charles Croswell | Jan 3, 1877 | Jan 1, 1881 | Republican |
David Jerome | Jan 1, 1881 | Jan 1, 1883 | Republican |
Josiah Begole | Jan 1, 1883 | Jan 1, 1885 | Democratic |
Russell A. Alger | Jan 1, 1885 | Jan 1, 1887 | Republican |
Cyrus G. Luce | Jan 1, 1887 | Jan 1, 1891 | Republican |
Edwin B. Winans | Jan 1, 1891 | Jan 1, 1893 | Democratic |
John Treadway Rich | Jan 1, 1893 | Jan 1, 1897 | Republican |
Hazen S. Pingree | Jan 1, 1897 | Jan 1, 1901 | Republican |
Aaron T. Bliss | Jan 1, 1901 | Jan 1, 1905 | Republican |
Fred M. Warner | Jan 1, 1905 | Jan 2, 1911 | Republican |
Chase Osborn | Jan 2, 1911 | Jan 1, 1913 | Republican |
Woodbridge Nathan Ferris | Jan 1, 1913 | Jan 1, 1917 | Democratic |
Albert Sleeper | Jan 1, 1917 | Jan 1, 1921 | Republican |
Alex J. Groesbeck | Jan 1, 1921 | Jan 1, 1927 | Republican |
Fred W. Green | Jan 1, 1927 | Jan 1, 1931 | Republican |
Wilber M. Brucker | Jan 1, 1931 | Jan 1, 1933 | Republican |
William Comstock | Jan 1, 1933 | Jan 1, 1935 | Democratic |
Frank Fitzgerald | Jan 1, 1935 | Jan 1, 1937 | Republican |
Frank Murphy | Jan 1, 1937 | Jan 1, 1939 | Democratic |
Frank Fitzgerald | Jan 1, 1939 | Mar 16, 1939 | Republican |
Luren Dickinson | Mar 16, 1939 | Jan 1, 1941 | Republican |
Murray Van Wagoner | Jan 1, 1941 | Jan 1, 1943 | Democratic |
Harry Kelly | Jan 1, 1943 | Jan 1, 1947 | Republican |
Kim Sigler | Jan 1, 1947 | Jan 1, 1949 | Republican |
G. Mennen Williams | Jan 1, 1949 | Jan 1, 1961 | Democratic |
John Swainson | Jan 1, 1961 | Jan 1, 1963 | Democratic |
George W. Romney | Jan 1, 1963 | Jan 22, 1969 | Republican |
William Milliken | Jan 22, 1969 | Jan 1, 1983 | Republican |
James Blanchard | Jan 1, 1983 | Jan 1, 1991 | Democratic |
John Engler | Jan 1, 1991 | Jan 1, 2003 | Republican |
Jennifer Granholm | Jan 1, 2003 | Jan 1, 2011 | Democratic |
Rick Snyder | Jan 1, 2011 | Jan 1, 2019 | Republican |
Gretchen Whitmer | Jan 1, 2019 | - | Democratic |
Michigan joined the United States in the 1830s. Since that time, the state has had a total of 47 governors. Gretchen Whitmer is the current governor of Michigan, and she has served in that position since 2019. She has gone through a lot during her time as Governor, including an attempted coup during the coronavirus pandemic. While she has handled that well, she has had to deal with a number of other problems during her time in office. She is a member of the Democratic Party, succeeding Rick Synder who served from 2011 to 2019 as a member of the Republican Party.
The first governor of Michigan was Stevens T. Mason, who served in that office from 1835 to 1840. After he left office, the state had two governors from the Whig party, William Woodbridge who served from 1840 to 1840, and James Wright Gordon, who served from 1841 to 1842. In 1842, the Democratic party took over power in Michigan again, holding the office of the governor until 1855. From 1842 to 1845, there were seven consecutive Democratic governors of Michigan.
Michigan is a member of the Rust Belt. As a result, the state has had a number of governors from each party. Prior to Gretchen Whitmer, Rick Snyder was a member of the Republican Party. Before Rick Snyder took over, Jennifer Granholm was the governor of Michigan, and she was a member of the democratic party. John Engler served as the governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003, one of the longest-serving governors in the history of Michigan, and he was a member of the Republican Party. The parties have gone back and forth regarding control of the governor’s office in Michigan.
The current governor of Michigan is Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat.
There have been 47 governors of Michigan, 18 Democrats, 27 Republicans, and 2 from other parties.
The last Democratic governor in Michigan is Gretchen Whitmer, who has served from 2019 to the present day.
The last Republican governor in Michigan was Rick Snyder, who served from 2011 to 2019.