Governor of California

California Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$218,556
2024 FY Budget:	$31,202,000
Term limits:	2 terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	California Constitution, Article 5, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Governor of California Gavin Newsom Democratic Party Assumed office: January 7, 2019
Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
Other California Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Controller • Superintendent of Public Instruction • Agriculture Secretary • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Secretary • Industrial Relations Director • Public Utilities Commission

The Governor of California is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch and the highest state office in California. The governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two terms. The office of governor was first established in 1849, replacing the succession of military governors that had overseen the territory since its annexation the previous year.

California has a Democratic trifecta. The Democratic Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

California has a Democratic triplex. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

See also: California State Legislature, California State Assembly, California State Senate

Current officeholder

The 40th and current governor of California is Gavin Newsom (D). He was first elected in November 2018. He took office in January 2019.

Authority

The Constitution of California establishes the office of governor in Article V, the Executive.

California Constitution, Article 5, Section 1

The supreme executive power of this State is vested in the Governor.

Qualifications

State Executives
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014
Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014

The governor may not hold any other public offices, engage in any lobbying or accept any honorariums. Additionally, he or she must be a registered voter in California, a resident of the state for at least five years on election day and an American citizen for at least five years. As of July 2021, the California Secretary of State's office considered the five-year state residency requirement to run for political office to be in violation of the U.S. Constitution and required only that candidates hold U.S. citizenship.

California Constitution, Article 5, Section 2

[...] The Governor shall be an elector who has been a citizen of the United States and a resident of this State for 5 years immediately preceding the Governor's election. The Governor may not hold other public office.

Elections

California state government organizational chart

California elects governors in federal midterm election years, e.g. 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030 and 2034. The gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the first Monday in the new year following the election.

California Constitution, Article 5, Section 2

The Governor shall be elected every fourth year at the same time and places as members of the Assembly and hold office from the Monday after January 1 following the election until a successor qualifies.

As in several other states, governors may be subject to recall elections. To initiate a recall, citizens must submit petitions signed by California voters equal in number to 12 percent of the last vote for the office of governor. Additionally, petitioners must collect signatures from each of five counties equal in number to 1 percent of the last vote for governor in the county. The most recent California gubernatorial recall election saw Gavin Newsom retain his position.

2022

See also: California gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Governor of California

Incumbent Gavin Newsom defeated Brian Dahle in the general election for Governor of California on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gavin Newsom (D)	59.2	6,470,104
		Brian Dahle (R)	40.8	4,462,914

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,933,018
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Governor of California

The following candidates ran in the primary for Governor of California on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gavin Newsom (D)	55.9	3,945,748
✔		Brian Dahle (R)	17.7	1,252,800
		Michael Shellenberger (Independent)	4.1	290,286
		Jenny Rae Le Roux (R)	3.5	246,665
		Anthony Trimino (R)	3.5	246,322
		Shawn Collins (R)	2.5	173,083
		Luis Rodriguez (G)	1.8	124,672
		Leo Zacky (R)	1.3	94,521
		Major Williams (R)	1.3	92,580
		Robert Newman (R)	1.2	82,849
		Joel Ventresca (D)	0.9	66,885
		David Lozano (R)	0.9	66,542
		Ronald Anderson (R)	0.8	53,554
		Reinette Senum (Independent)	0.8	53,015
		Armando Perez-Serrato (D)	0.6	45,474
		Ron Jones (R)	0.5	38,337
		Daniel Mercuri (R)	0.5	36,396
		Heather Collins (G)	0.4	29,690
		Anthony Fanara (D)	0.4	25,086
		Cristian Morales (R)	0.3	22,304
		Lonnie Sortor (R)	0.3	21,044
		Frederic Schultz (Independent)	0.2	17,502
		Woodrow Sanders III (Independent)	0.2	16,204
		James Hanink (Independent)	0.1	10,110
		Serge Fiankan (Independent)	0.1	6,201
		Bradley Zink (Independent)	0.1	5,997
		Jeff Scott (American Independent Party of California) (Write-in)	0.0	13
		Gurinder Bhangoo (R) (Write-in)	0.0	8

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,063,888
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Errol Webber (R)
• Laura Smith (R)
• Chaz Flemmings (Independent)
• John Drake (D)
• Mohammad Arif (D)
• Hilaire Shioura (Independent)

2018

See also: California gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

General election for Governor of California

Gavin Newsom defeated John Cox in the general election for Governor of California on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gavin Newsom (D)	61.9	7,721,410
		John Cox (R)	38.1	4,742,825

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,464,235 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Governor of California

The following candidates ran in the primary for Governor of California on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gavin Newsom (D)	33.7	2,343,792
✔		John Cox (R)	25.4	1,766,488
		Antonio Villaraigosa (D)	13.3	926,394
		Travis Allen (R)	9.5	658,798
		John Chiang (D)	9.4	655,920
		Delaine Eastin (D)	3.4	234,869
		Amanda Renteria (D)	1.3	93,446
		Robert Newman (R)	0.6	44,674
		Michael Shellenberger (D)	0.5	31,692
		Peter Yuan Liu (R)	0.4	27,336
		Yvonne Girard (R)	0.3	21,840
		Gloria La Riva (Peace and Freedom Party)	0.3	19,075
		Juan Bribiesca (D)	0.3	17,586
		Josh Jones (G)	0.2	16,131
		Zoltan Gyurko Istvan (L)	0.2	14,462
		Albert Caesar Mezzetti (D)	0.2	12,026
		Nickolas Wildstar (L)	0.2	11,566
		Robert Davidson Griffis (D)	0.2	11,103
		Akinyemi Agbede (D)	0.1	9,380
		Thomas Jefferson Cares (D)	0.1	8,937
		Christopher Carlson (G)	0.1	7,302
		Klement Tinaj (D)	0.1	5,368
		Hakan Mikado (Independent)	0.1	5,346
		Johnny Wattenburg (Independent)	0.1	4,973
		Desmond Silveira (Independent)	0.1	4,633
		Shubham Goel (Independent)	0.1	4,020
		Jeffrey Edward Taylor (Independent)	0.1	3,973

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 6,961,130
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Boris Romanowsky (Independent)
• Robert Kleinberger (R)
• Lindsey Neil Shortland (Independent)
• George Konik (R)
• Scot Sturtevant (Independent)
• Ted Crisell (D)
• James Tran (Independent)
• Jacob Morris (R)
• Michael Bilger (Independent)
• Andy Blanch (Independent)
• Daniel Amare (R)
• David Bush (Independent)
• David Hadley (R)
• Grant Handzlik (Independent)
• David Asem (D)
• Stasyi Barth (R)
• Michael Bracamontes (D)
• Analila Joya (Independent)
• Harmesh Kumar (D)
• Joshua Laine (Independent)
• John Leslie-Brown (R)
• Frederic Prinz von Anhalt (Independent)
• Timothy Richardson (Independent)
• Brian Domingo (R)
• Doug Ose (R)

2014

See also: California gubernatorial election, 2014

Governor of California, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jerry Brown Incumbent	60%	4,388,368
	Republican	Neel Kashkari	40%	2,929,213
Total Votes				7,317,581
Election results California Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed April 6, 2017

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

California governors are restricted to two terms in office during their lifetime.

California Constitution, Article V, Section 2

No Governor may serve more than 2 terms.

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of California governors from 1992 to 2013.

Vacancies

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Article 5, Section 10 of the state constitution requires the Lieutenant Governor of California to assume the office of governor if the incumbent is unable to discharge the office. The legislature sets the rest of the order of precedence for filling vacancies in the office of governor. Disputes over the line of succession are under the sole jurisdiction of the California Supreme Court.

Duties

The governor has the power to veto bills from the California State Legislature. The legislature can override a veto by a two-thirds majority vote in both the state assembly and the state senate. The governor can veto particular items from an appropriations bill while leaving others intact.

Law-enforcement powers include the ability to grant pardons and commute sentences, excepting cases of impeachment, as well as serving as the commander-in-chief of the state militia. In addition to calling the National Guard into active duty, the governor can call the California State Military Reserve to active duty to support guardsmen.

The governor also has full membership and voting powers to the Regents of the University of California, the governing board of the University of California system, along with other elected officials, and a majority of members on the Regents of the University of California are appointed by the governor.

Each year, the governor must make a "State of the State" address to the legislature. He or she may also order reports and information from other state officers.

Unless otherwise provided by law, the governor fills vacancies in all state offices. Specifically, vacancies in the offices of state school superintendent, the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state controller, state treasurer, attorney general and on the State Board of Equalization are filled by a gubernatorial nominee with state senate confirmation.

Divisions

Updated January 14, 2021

• Accounting
• Advance
• Appointments
• Business Affairs
• Chief of Staff Office
• Constituent Affairs & Mailroom
• Executive Office
• External Affairs
• Information Technology
• Judicial Appointments
• Legal Affairs
• Legislative Affairs
• Operations
• Paroles/Extraditions/Commutations
• Partnerships & Civic Engagement
• Personnel
• Public Affairs
  • Digital
  • Writing & Research
• Reception
• Scheduling
• Social Innovation

State budget

Role in state budget

See also: California state budget and finances

The state operates on an annual budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:

1. Budget instructions are sent to state agencies beginning in April.
2. Agencies submit their budget requests to the governor in September.
3. The governor submits his or her proposed budget to the state legislature in January.
4. The legislature adopts a budget in June. A majority is required to pass a budget. The fiscal year begins July 1.

California is one of 44 states in which the governor has line item veto authority.

The governor is required to submit a balanced budget to the legislature. In turn, the legislature is required to adopt a balanced budget.

Governor's office budget

The budget for the California Governor's Office in the 2023-2024 Fiscal Year was $31,202,000.

Compensation

See also: Comparison of gubernatorial salaries and Compensation of state executive officers

The salaries of California's elected executives are determined by the California Citizens Compensation Commission, a seven-member board appointed by the governor to six-year terms. The commission was established after voters passed Proposition 112, an amendment to the California Constitution, in 1990. Commissioners meet prior to June 30 of each year to determine salary recommendations with changes effective the following December. From 2001 to 2013, the commission voted to increase salaries or benefits five times and decreased or made no changes to salaries eight times.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $218,556, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the governor received a salary of $209,747, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the governor's salary was increased to $209,747, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the governor's salary was increased to $201,680, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the governor's salary was increased to $195,806, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the governor's salary was increased to $190,103, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the governor's salary was increased to $182,791, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the governor's salary was increased to $177,467, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the governor received a salary of $173,987, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the governor received a salary of $173,987, according to the Council of State Governments.

2010

In 2010, the governor received a salary of $173,987, according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

There have been 40 governors of California since 1849. Of the 40 officeholders, 20 were Republican, 16 were Democratic, two were Independent Democrat, one was Union, and one was American Know-Nothing.

#	Name	Term
1	Peter H. Burnett (D)	December 20, 1849-January 9, 1851
2	John McDougal (D)	January 9, 1851-January 8, 1852
3	John Bigler (D)	January 8, 1852-January 9, 1856
4	John N. Johnson (Know-Nothing)	January 9, 1856-January 8, 1858
5	John B. Weller (D)	January 8, 1858-January 9, 1860
6	Milton S. Latham (D)	January 9, 1860-January 14, 1860
7	John G. Downey (D)	January 14, 1860-January 10, 1862
8	Leland Stanford (R)	January 10, 1862-December 10, 1863
9	Frederick F. Low (Union)	December 10, 1863-December 5, 1867
10	Henry H. Haight	December 5, 1867-December 8, 1871
11	Newton Booth (R)	December 8, 1871-February 27, 1875
12	Romualdo Pacheo (R)	February 27, 1875-December 9, 1875
13	William Irwin (D)	December 9, 1875-January 8, 1880
14	George C. Perkins (R)	January 10, 1880-January 10, 1883
15	George Stoneman (D)	January 10, 1883-January 8, 1887
16	Washington Bartlett (D)	January 8, 1887-September 12, 1887
17	Robert W. Waterman (R)	September 12, 1887-January 8, 1891
18	Henry H. Markham (R)	January 8, 1891-January 11, 1895
19	James H. Budd (D)	January 11, 1895-January 4, 1899
20	Henry T. Gage (R)	January 4, 1899-January 7, 1903
21	George C. Pardee (R)	January 7, 1903-January 9, 1907
22	James N. Gillett (R)	January 9, 1907-January 3, 1911
23	Hiram Johnson (Republican, Progressive)	January 3, 1911-March 15, 1917
24	William D. Stephens (R)	March 15, 1917-January 8, 1923
25	Friend William Richardson (R)	January 8, 1923-January 4, 1927
26	Clement C. Young (R)	January 4, 1927-January 8, 1931
27	James Rolph (R)	January 8, 1931-June 2, 1934
28	Frank F. Merriam (R)	June 2, 1934-January 2, 1939
29	Culbert L. Olson (D)	January 2, 1939-January 4, 1943
30	Earl Warren (R)	January 4, 1943-October 5, 1953
31	Goodwin J. Knight (R)	October 5, 1953-January 5, 1959
32	Pat Brown (D)	January 5, 1959-January 2, 1967
33	Ronald Reagan (R)	January 2, 1967-January 6, 1975
34	Jerry Brown (D)	January 5, 1975-January 4, 1983
35	George Deukmejian (R)	January 3, 1983-January 7, 1991
36	Pete Wilson (R)	January 7, 1991-January 4, 1999
37	Gray Davis (D)	January 4, 1999-November 17, 2003
38	Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)	November 17, 2003-January 3, 2011
39	Jerry Brown (D)	January 3, 2011-2019
40	Gavin Newsom (D)	January 7, 2019-present

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, California

Partisan breakdown of the California governorship from 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, there were Democratic governors in office for eight years while there were Republican governors in office for 14 years. During the final three years of the study, California was under Democratic trifectas.

Across the country, there were 493 years of Democratic governors (44.82%) and 586 years of Republican governors (53.27%) from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of California, the California State Senate and the California House of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

SQLI and partisanship

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the California state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. California has never had a Republican trifecta, but did have Democratic trifectas between the years 1999 and 2003 and again after 2010 to the present. California fell steadily in the SQLI ranking until finally reaching the bottom-10 in 2010. The state reached its highest ranking (28th) in 1998 and 1999, first under divided government and then under a Democratic trifecta. The state’s lowest ranking (48th) occurred recently in 2012 under a Democratic trifecta. Except for the years 1995 and 1996, the California legislature has been consistently under Democratic control.

• SQLI average with Democratic trifecta: 37.00
• SQLI average with Republican trifecta: N/A
• SQLI average with divided government: 35.21

Chart displaying the partisanship of California government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).

State profile

Demographic data for California
	California	U.S.
Total population:	38,993,940	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	155,779	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	61.8%	73.6%
Black/African American:	5.9%	12.6%
Asian:	13.7%	5.1%
Native American:	0.7%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.4%	0.2%
Two or more:	4.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	38.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	81.8%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	31.4%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$61,818	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	18.2%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in California. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in California

California voted for the Democratic candidate in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

More California coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in California
• United States congressional delegations from California
• Public policy in California
• Endorsers in California
• California fact checks
• More...

Contact information

Physical address:
1303 10th Street, Suite 1173 Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Official site of Governor's office
• Official California Secretary of State Election and Voter Information site