The 20 Longest-Serving Governors in US History, Ranked

William Livingston served as New Jersey's first state governor from 1776 until his death in 1790. A signatory of the United States Constitution, he led the state through the Revolutionary War and won reelection fourteen consecutive times.

George W. P. Hunt was elected as Arizona's first governor upon statehood in 1912. Known for his progressive labor reforms and opposition to capital punishment, he won election to the state's highest office a record seven distinct times.

William Milliken led Michigan from 1969 to 1983, steering the state through intense automotive industry downturns. A moderate Republican known for bipartisan collaboration, he remains the longest-serving chief executive in Michigan history.

Robert D. Ray served as Iowa's governor from 1969 to 1983 across five terms. He achieved international acclaim for spearheading efforts to resettle thousands of Southeast Asian Tai Dam and boat people refugees across Iowa communities in the late 1970s.

James R. Thompson served as governor of Illinois from 1977 to 1991, winning four consecutive elections. Known as Big Jim, the former federal prosecutor built major state infrastructure and remains the longest-serving chief executive in Illinois history.

John Taylor Gilman served as governor of New Hampshire across two periods, from 1794 to 1805 and again from 1813 to 1816. A dedicated Federalist and early American patriot, he served a total of fourteen annual one-year terms in office.

Cecil Andrus served four terms as Idaho's governor, from 1971 to 1977 and 1987 to 1995, interrupted by his service as U.S. Secretary of the Interior under Jimmy Carter. A fierce conservationist, he was instrumental in establishing major federal wilderness protections.

Tommy Thompson served as Wisconsin's governor from 1987 until 2001, winning four terms and enacting pioneering welfare-to-work and school choice initiatives. He later served as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush.

Rick Perry assumed the governorship of Texas in December 2000 following George W. Bush's election to the presidency, winning three full terms thereafter. He oversaw unprecedented economic and population expansion in the Lone Star State through January 2015.

Nelson Rockefeller served four terms as governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. A prominent moderate Republican leader, he dramatically expanded the State University of New York system and state arts funding before becoming Vice President under Gerald Ford.

Albert Ritchie served as governor of Maryland from 1920 to 1935, winning four consecutive terms. A champion of states' rights and an ardent opponent of Prohibition, Ritchie modernized Maryland's state government and budget system.

Arthur Fenner served as Rhode Island's fourth governor from May 1790 until his death in October 1805. Elected as the candidate of the Country Party, he guided Rhode Island as the final original colony to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Edwin Edwards served four terms as governor of Louisiana across three decades, in 1972 to 1980, 1984 to 1988, and 1992 to 1996. A flamboyant populist orator, he adopted a new state constitution and expanded state revenue through oil severance taxes.

James B. Hunt Jr. served four terms as governor of North Carolina, from 1977 to 1985 and 1993 to 2001. Widely known as the nation's Education Governor, Hunt championed Smart Start early childhood initiatives and transformed North Carolina's public schools.

James A. Rhodes served as governor of Ohio from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1975 to 1983. Renowned for his job-creation slogan Jobs and Progress, he established Ohio's extensive network of state universities, community colleges, and vocational schools.

William Janklow served four terms as governor of South Dakota, from 1979 to 1987 and 1995 to 2003. He transformed South Dakota's financial services economy by deregulating banking usury limits in 1981, attracting major national credit card operations to the state.

Jerry Brown served four terms as governor of California across two separate eras, from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. In his second gubernatorial stint, he turned massive multi-billion-dollar state budget deficits into historic surpluses while advancing pioneering environmental policies.

George Wallace served as governor of Alabama across four terms spanning three separate decades, in 1963 to 1967, 1971 to 1979, and 1983 to 1987. A polarizing national figure who survived a 1972 assassination attempt, his final term was marked by his public renunciation of segregation.

George Clinton served as New York's first governor from 1777 to 1795 and returned from 1801 to 1804. He remains the longest continuously serving governor in American history at nearly eighteen straight years, later serving as U.S. Vice President under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Terry Branstad is the longest-serving governor in American history, serving from 1983 to 1999 and again from 2011 until May 2017. Over six full terms spanning 8,169 days, he guided Iowa through the 1980s farm crisis before later serving as U.S. Ambassador to China.