The Governor of the State of Colorado is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Colorado General Assembly, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason or impeachment.
Governors[]
Governors of the State of Colorado[]
The State of Colorado was admitted to the Union on August 1, 1876.
To serve as governor, one must be at least 30 years old, be a citizen of the United States, and have been a resident of the state for at least two years prior to election. The state constitution of 1876 originally called for election of the governor every two years, with their term beginning on the second Tuesday of the January following the election. An amendment passed in 1956, taking effect in 1959, increased terms to four years. Originally, there was no term limit applied to the governor; a 1990 amendment allowed governors to succeed themselves only once. There is however no limit on the total number of terms one may serve as long as one who has served the two term limit is out of office for four years.
Should the office of governor become vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes governor. If both the offices governor and lieutenant governor are vacant, the line of succession moves down through the senior members of the state senate and state house of representatives of the same party as the governor. The lieutenant governor was elected separately from the governor until a 1968 amendment to the constitution made it so that they are elected on the same ticket.
The longest-serving Governors are Richard Lamm (1975-1987) and Roy Romer (1987-1999), both of whom served 12 years each respectively. Garrett Walker (2007-2012) was the first Colorado Governor to serve as President of the United States.
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Republican Democratic People's | ||||||||
| # | Governor | Term in office | Party | Term= | Lt. Governor | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Garrett Walker | Democratic | ||||||