| Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia | |
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| Government of Virginia | |
| Style |
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| Status | |
| Residence | Virginia Executive Mansion |
| Term length | Four years, not eligible for immediate re-election |
| Formation | July 5, 1776 |
| First holder | Patrick Henry |
| Succession | Line of succession |
| Deputy | Lieutenant Governor of Virginia |
| Salary | $175,000 (2013)[1] |
| Website | Official website |
Thegovernor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is thehead of government of theCommonwealth ofVirginia. Thegovernor is head of theexecutive branch of thegovernment of Virginia and is thecommander-in-chief of theVirginia National Guard andVirginia Defense Force.
Threesignatories of theDeclaration of Independence served as governor of Virginia and three governors becamepresident of the United States:Thomas Jefferson,James Monroe, andJohn Tyler.
The current officeholder isGlenn Youngkin, a member of theRepublican Party who took office on January 15, 2022.
On inauguration day, the governor-elect takes the following oath of office:[2]"I (first_middle_last names), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon me as Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, according to the best of my ability. (So help me, God.)"
Article V, Section 3 of theVirginia Constitution lists the following qualifications for a person to be elected Governor of Virginia:[3]
Unlike other state governors, Virginia governors are not allowed to serve consecutive terms. They have been barred from immediate re-election since the adoption of Virginia's second constitution, in 1830. However, a former governor is permitted to run for a second term in a future election. Only two governors since 1830,William Smith andMills Godwin, have been elected to additional terms. Smith's second term came after Virginiaseceded from the Union, while Godwin became the first ever governor in American history to be elected by both major parties when the former Democrat was elected in 1973 as a Republican. The only other governors to serve non-consecutive terms in office arePatrick Henry andJames Monroe, withGeorge William Smith serving twice as acting governor before becoming official governor.
To get on the ballot for governor of Virginia, each candidate must file 10,000 signatures, including the signatures of at least 400 qualified voters from each of the 11 congressional districts in the Commonwealth.[4]
The governor is the head of government in Virginia. At the beginning of every regular session, they must report the state of the Commonwealth to the Virginia General Assembly (both the House of Delegates and the Senate). They must convene the legislature when two-thirds of each house calls for a special session. The governor must ensure that the laws of the Commonwealth are faithfully executed by either signing, or allowing it to come into law, or vetoing, not allowing it to become law. They are responsible for the safety of the state, as they serve as commander-in-chief of theVirginia Militia.
Established by Article V, Section 16 of theConstitution of Virginia.[5]
| Succession order | Office | Current officeholder |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Governor of Virginia | Glenn Youngkin (R) |
| 1 | Lieutenant Governor | Winsome Sears (R) |
| 2 | Attorney General | Jason Miyares (R) |
| 3 | Speaker of the House of Delegates | Don Scott (D) |
| 4 | House of Delegates convenes to fill the vacancy | |
The position of governor of Virginia dates back to the 1607 first permanentEnglish settlement inAmerica, atJamestown on the north shore of theJames River upstream fromHampton Roads harbor at the mouth of theChesapeake Bay. TheVirginia Company of London set up a government-run by a council. The president of the council served as a governor. The council was based inLondon and controlled the colony from afar. Nominally, Thomas Smith was the first president of the council, but he never left England.Edward Maria Wingfield was the first president of the council in residence in the new province, making him the first to exercise the actual authority of governing Virginia. The Virginia Company soon abandoned governance by council two years after the landing on May 23, 1609, and replacing it with a governor,John Smith (1580–1631).[6]
In 1624, the English monarchy ofKing James I (1566–1625, reigned 1603–1625), in the last year of his reign, of the royalHouse of Stuart took control from the Virginia Company and its stockholders and made Virginia acrown colony. Governors continued to be appointed by the monarch for many years. Most often, the appointed governor would reside in England while a deputy or lieutenant governor exercised authority. The royal rule was interrupted during theEnglish Civil War (1642–1646 / 1648–1649), after which governors were appointed by theProtectorate underRichard Cromwell (successor toOliver Cromwell) in the interimCommonwealth of England until theEnglish Restoration of the monarchy with KingCharles II in 1660.
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Virginia became an independent sovereign state andCommonwealth during theAmerican Revolutionary War (1775–1783), withPatrick Henry (1736–1799, served 1776–1779 and 1786–1789) as its first governor (and also later sixth). From theRevolution until 1851, the governor was elected by theGeneral Assembly of Virginia (commonwealth/state legislature). After 1851, in a democratic trend spreading across the Union, the state turned to popular elections for office holders.
During theAmerican Civil War (1861–1865),Francis Harrison Pierpont was the governor of theUnion-controlled parts of the state, later of which emerged the new state in the northwest ofWest Virginia. Pierpont also served as one of the provisional governors during the post-warReconstruction era. These governors were appointed by the Federal government of thePresident andU.S. Congress, both controlled byRadical Republicans for a decade. In 1874, Virginia regained its right to self-governance and electedJames L. Kemper (1823–1895), aDemocrat and temporaryConservative Party member and formerConfederate general as governor. After the Radical Republican appointees of the post-war Reconstruction era, Virginia would not actually elect another regularRepublican as governor untilA. Linwood Holton Jr. in 1969. However, in 1881William E. Cameron was elected governor under the banner of theReadjuster Party, a coalition of Republicans andpopulist Democrats.Douglas Wilder became the first elected and only the secondAfrican American Governor of any U.S. state. He served as governor from 1990 to 1994.
Since 1851, Virginia's gubernatorial elections have been held in "off-years"—years in which there are no national (presidential, senatorial, or House) elections; Virginia's gubernatorial elections are held one year after U.S. presidential elections (2001, 2005, 2009, etc.) (Most states hold gubernatorial elections either on presidential-election years ormidterm-election years, when there are congressional elections.) In every Virginia gubernatorial election starting with 1977, the governor elected had been from the opposite party as the president elected by the nation in the previous year, even when Virginia had voted for the president in office, as withBill Clinton andGeorge W. Bush. The only exception being in 2013 with the election of DemocratTerry McAuliffe, following the re-election of PresidentBarack Obama in2012.
Tim Kaine was inaugurated on January 14, 2006. Due to renovations on the Capitol in Richmond, his inauguration was held inWilliamsburg, making him the first governor to be inaugurated in Williamsburg since Thomas Jefferson in 1779. The current governor of Virginia isGlenn Youngkin who was inaugurated on January 15, 2022.
The governor of Virginia is addressed as "The Honorable" but may occasionally be referred to as "Excellency" if ceremonially appropriate.[7]
| Timeline of Virginia governors |
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| Virginia statewide elected officials | |
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