Nov. 8 was election night, and history was made as two women -- current Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican opponent Tudor Dixon -- ran against each other for the governor seat for the first time ever.
Michigan has had a long line of governors, with Jennifer M. Granholm as the first woman governor of the Great Lakes State. We’ve got photos of old governors from George Romney to Woodbridge N. Ferris -- check them out in the photo gallery above as we time travel through 187 of Michigan’s history.
Below is a list of the 49 governors for the state of Michigan
| # | Name | Years Served | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stevens T. Mason | 1835-1840 | D |
| 2 | William Woodbridge * | 1840-1841 | W |
| 3 | James Wright Gordon | 1841 | W |
| 4 | John S. Barry | 1842-1846 | D |
| 5 | Alpheus Felch ** | 1846-1847 | D |
| 6 | William L. Greenly | 1847 | D |
| 7 | Epaphroditus Ransom | 1848-1850 | D |
| 8 | John S. Barry | 1850-1851 | D |
| 9 | Robert McClelland | 1852-1853 | D |
| 10 | Andrew Parsons | 1853-1854 | D |
| 11 | Kinsley S. Bingham | 1855-1858 | R |
| 12 | Moses Wisner | 1859-1860 | R |
| 13 | Austin Blair | 1861-1864 | R |
| 14 | Henry H. Crapo | 1865-1868 | R |
| 15 | Henry P. Baldwin | 1869-1872 | R |
| 16 | John J. Bagley | 1873-1876 | R |
| 17 | Charles M. Croswell | 1877-1880 | R |
| 18 | David H. Jerome | 1881-1882 | R |
| 19 | Josiah W. Begole | 1883-1884 | D (Fusionist) |
| 20 | Russell A. Alger | 1885-1886 | R |
| 21 | Cyrus G. Luce | 1887-1890 | R |
| 22 | Edwin B. Winans | 1891-1892 | D |
| 23 | John T. Rich | 1893-1896 | R |
| 24 | Hazen S. Pingree | 1897-1900 | R |
| 25 | Aaron T. Bliss | 1901-1904 | R |
| 26 | Fred M. Warner | 1905-1910 | R |
| 27 | Chase S. Osborn | 1911-1912 | R |
| 28 | Woodbridge N. Ferris | 1913-1916 | D |
| 29 | Albert E. Sleeper | 1917-1920 | R |
| 30 | Alexander J. Groesbeck | 1921-1926 | R |
| 31 | Fred W. Green | 1927-1930 | R |
| 32 | Wilber M. Brucker | 1931-1932 | R |
| 33 | William A. Comstock | 1933-1934 | D |
| 34 | Frank D. Fitzgerald | 1935-1936 | R |
| 35 | Frank Murphy | 1937-1938 | D |
| 36 | Frank D. Fitzgerald *** | 1939 | R |
| 37 | Luren D. Dickinson | 1939-1940 | R |
| 38 | Murray D. Van Wagoner | 1941-1942 | D |
| 39 | Harry F. Kelly | 1943-1946 | R |
| 40 | Kim Sigler | 1947-1948 | R |
| 41 | G. Mennen Williams | 1949-1960 | D |
| 42 | John B. Swainson | 1961-1962 | D |
| 43 | George Romney | 1963-1969 | R |
| 44 | William G. Milliken | 1969-1982 | R |
| 45 | James J. Blanchard | 1983-1990 | D |
| 46 | John M. Engler | 1991-2002 | R |
| 47 | Jennifer M. Granholm | 2003-2010 | D |
| 48 | Rick Snyder | 2011-2018 | R |
| 49 | Gretchen Whitmer | 2019- | D |
KEY:
- D = Democrat
- R = Republican
- W = Whig
- * Resigned February 24, 1841, to become a U.S. senator
- ** Resigned March 3, 1847, to become a U.S. senator
- *** Died in office, March 16, 1939