List of Governors of New Mexico Information & List of Governors of New Mexico Links at HealthHaven.com

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. Governors are limited to two consecutive terms but a former governor is eligible for reelection after four years.

No woman has ever held the office of governor; current Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, the only declared candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2010, would be the first.

[edit] Governors

[edit] Governors of the Territory of New Mexico

#	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	1855	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

[edit] Governors of the State 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]

[edit] Notes

^ Table only includes state governors; 26 people have served as governor, two thrice; the table includes these non-consecutive terms as well.
^ 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.
^ James Calhoun resigned in 1852 to return to his native state of Georgia
^ 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))
^ Samuel Axtell was suspended by the Secretary of the Interior for misconduct in 1878.
^ George Curry resigned in 1910 to be a framer in the New Mexico Constitutional Convention.
^ ^a ^b Died in office.
^ ^a ^b ^c As lieutenant governor, filled unexpired term.
^ Resigned to be appointed to the United States Senate by his successor.
^ Governor Richardson's second term expires in 2011; he is term limited.

[edit] Other high 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

[edit] Living former governors

As of November 2009^[update], five former governors were alive, the oldest being David F. Cargo (1967–1971, born 1929). The most recent and most recently-serving governor to die was Bruce King (1971–1975, 1979–1983, 1991–1995), who died on November 13, 2009.

Name	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth
David F. Cargo	1967–1971	January 13, 1929
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

[edit] See also

Spanish governors of New Mexico

[0] Table only includes state governors; 26 people have served as governor, two thrice; the table includes these non-consecutive terms as well.

[1] 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.

[2] James Calhoun resigned in 1852 to return to his native state of Georgia

[3] 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))

[4] Samuel Axtell was suspended by the Secretary of the Interior for misconduct in 1878.

[5] George Curry resigned in 1910 to be a framer in the New Mexico Constitutional Convention.

[died-6] Died in office.

[ltfilled-7] As lieutenant governor, filled unexpired term.

[8] Resigned to be appointed to the United States Senate by his successor.

[9] Governor Richardson's second term expires in 2011; he is term limited.

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