The Green Papers: General Election 2004
 
Copyright www.flags.net/UNST.htm 2004 Governor's Chairs
by State

This is a list of the current Governors' chairs, the incumbents occupying them, and the candidacy status of said incumbents. Chairs up for election in the year 2004 are marked as such.

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Gubernatorial Links

           

Arizona  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Janet Napolitano
First elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.

Delaware  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2000, 2004. Term Limit: No one can serve more than 2 4-year terms in a lifetime
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

Chair up for election   Democrat   Governor Ruth Ann Minner
• Re-elected Tuesday 2 November 2004
First elected: 2000; re-elected: 2004.
Chair up for election: Tuesday 2 November 2004
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.
Renominated - 11 September 2004 Primary
Total 365,008 100.00%  

Illinois  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: None
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Rod R. Blagojevich
First elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006

Indiana  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2000, 2004. Term Limit: No more than 2 4-year terms in any 3-term period
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

Chair up for election   Democrat   Governor Joseph E. "Joe" Kernan
Succeeded to the office of Governor upon the death of Governor Frank O'Bannon, 13 September 2003
Chair up for election: Tuesday 2 November 2004
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.
Renominated - 4 May 2004 Primary
Total 2,448,498 100.00%  

Iowa  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: None
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Tom Vilsack
First elected: 1998; re-elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006

Kansas  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Kathleen Sebelius
First elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.

Louisiana  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2003, 2007. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
First elected: 2003
Chair up for election: Saturday 20 October 2007
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.

Maine  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms. GOVERNOR is the only Statewide elected officer
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor John E. Baldacci
First elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.

Michigan  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Jennifer M. Granholm
First elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.

Missouri  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2000, 2004. Term Limit: No one can serve more than 2 4-year terms in a lifetime
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

Chair up for election   Democrat   Governor Bob Holden
First elected: 2000
Chair up for election: Tuesday 2 November 2004
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.
Lost Primary - 3 August 2004
 ** Open Chair (no incumbent) **
Total 2,719,599 100.00%  

New Jersey  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2001, 2005. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Richard James Codey
Became acting Governor 15 November 2004 upon the resignation of Governor James E. "Jim" McGreevey
Chair up for election: Tuesday 8 November 2005
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.
 

Democratic Governor McGreevey resigned 15 November 2004.

In an emotional press conference at the State House in Trenton, held on the afternoon of 12 August 2004- only days after his 47th Birthday, Governor James E. "Jim" McGreevey (D-New Jersey) announced his resignation from that office effective 15 November 2004, on which date State Senate President Richard James Codey (D-Essex County, NJ) will become "acting Governor" (New Jersey being one of the few States in the Union without a Lieutenant Governor). The reason the Garden State Governor gave for his resignation was his desire to keep his office from being adversely affected by his sexual preference, also publicly acknowledged by the Governor for the first time at this same press conference.

The date of McGreevey's resignation is evidently so timed as to allow for a smooth post-General Election transition (though the New Jersey Governor's office would not normally be up for election until November 2005, there are elections for Members of Congress and, of course, the American Presidential Election this coming 2 November, all with major ramifications for politicians within the Governor's Party) but, at the same time, to take care of a rather arcane bit of New Jersey succession law. Had Governor McGreevey's resignation taken effect prior to this coming 16 September, there would have had to be a Special Election to fill out the remaining year or so of his term (which ends in mid-January 2006); by resigning after that date, State Senator Codey can- once McGreevey's resignation takes effect- serve as "acting Governor" for the remainder of McGreevey's term without an intervening election for that office other than the one regularly scheduled for November 2005.

This will be the second time in only four years that a State Senate President will have become "acting Governor" of New Jersey in the wake of a Gubernatorial resignation. In early 2001, Governor Christie Whitman resigned to become then-newly inaugurated President George W. Bush's first Enviromental Protection Agency head, after which then-State Senate President Donald DiFrancesco (R- Union County, NJ) served almost all the remainder of Whitman's four-year term. The last week of that term was finished up alternately by then-co-State Senate Presidents Codey and John Bennett (R-Monmouth County, NJ) because a newly elected Legislature (with an evenly divided State Senate) took office just before McGreevey was inaugurated as Governor.

Governor McGreevey was elected in 2001.


New Mexico  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Bill Richardson
First elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.

North Carolina  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2000, 2004. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

Chair up for election   Democrat   Governor Mike Easley
• Re-elected Tuesday 2 November 2004
First elected: 2000; re-elected: 2004.
Chair up for election: Tuesday 2 November 2004
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.
Renominated - 20 July 2004 - Primary
Total 3,486,688 100.00%  

Oklahoma  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: 2 4-year terms
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Brad Henry
First elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.

Oregon  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: No more than 2 4-year terms in any 3-term period
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Ted Kulongoski
First elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.

Pennsylvania  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Ed Rendell
First elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.

Tennessee  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms. GOVERNOR is the only Statewide elected officer
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Phil Bredesen
First elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.

Virginia  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2001, 2005. Term Limit: ineligble to immediately succeed after a given 4-year term
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Mark Warner
First elected: 2001 (succeeding Republican James S. Gilmore)
Chair up for election: Tuesday 8 November 2005
The current Governor is affected by a term limit and cannot run for re-election.

Washington  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2000, 2004. Term Limit: None
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

Chair up for election   Democrat   Governor Gary Locke
First elected: 1996; re-elected: 2000.
Chair up for election: Tuesday 2 November 2004
Open Chair - 21 July 2003: Governor Locke announced that he will not seek re-election in 2004.
 ** Open Chair (no incumbent) **
 Manual Recount from an official source.
Machine Recount from an official source.
On Thursday 30 December 2004 the Secretary of State certified the manual recount results showing that Democrat Christine Gregoire won Governor's election by 129 votes out of 2,810,058. Mr. Rossi is considering contesting these results. History: Friday 3 December 2004- the Democrats officially challenged the certified machine recount Republican Dino Rossi won by 42 votes out of 2,808,342. Monday 6 December- Secretary of State Sam Reed issues a hand recount order. 23 December- the state Supreme Court rules that King County recount is to include 573 mistakenly rejected ballots and 162 misplaced ballots in the manual recount.
Manual Recount: (30 December 2004): Democrat Christine Gregoire: 1,373,361; Republican Dino Rossi: 1,373,232; Libertarian Ruth Bennett: 63,465.
Machine Recount (24 November 2004): Republican Dino Rossi: 1,372,484; Democrat Christine Gregoire: 1,372,442; Libertarian Ruth Bennett: 63,415.
Original Count: Republican Dino Rossi: 1,371,414; Democrat Christine Gregoire: 1,371,153; Libertarian Ruth Bennett: 63,346.
Total 2,810,058 100.00%  

West Virginia  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2000, 2004. Term Limit: 2 consecutive 4-year terms
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

Chair up for election   Democrat   Governor Robert E. Wise, Jr.
First elected: 2000.
Chair up for election: Tuesday 2 November 2004
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.
Open Chair - 12 August 2003: Governor Wise announced that he is not a candidate for re-election in 2004 (issue with marital infidelity).
 ** Open Chair (no incumbent) **
Total 744,433 100.00%  

Wisconsin  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: None
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Jim Doyle
First elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006

Wyoming  4 year term, Election Cycle: 2002, 2006. Term Limit: No more than 2 4-year terms in any 4-term period. The Wyoming Supreme Court determined on 4 May 2004 that term limits require an amendment to the state constitution rather than, as they were, imposed by a 1992 ballot initiative. At the time, the ruling was not applied to statewide offices. Reference: CATHCART v. MEYER, 2004 WY 49, 88 P.3d 1050, Case Number: 04-32, 04-33, 04-34, Decided: 05/04/2004
Partisan Composition: 1 Democrat

    Democrat   Governor Dave Freudenthal
First elected: 2002
Chair up for election: Tuesday 7 November 2006
The current Governor is unaffected by the State's term limit.
 

 


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