The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once before becoming ineligible for four years. Throughout the state's history, four men have served two non-consecutive terms as governor, and four others have served two consecutive terms, the most recent being current governor Andy Beshear, who was re-elected to a second term on November 7, 2023. Kentucky is one of only five U.S. states that hold gubernatorial elections in odd-numbered years.
The governor's powers are enumerated in the state constitution. There have been four constitutions of Kentucky—adopted in 1792, 1799, 1850, and 1891, respectively—and each has enlarged the governor's authority. Among the powers assigned to the governor in the constitution are the ability to grant pardons, veto legislation, and call the legislature into session. The governor serves as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces and is empowered to enforce all laws of the state. The officeholder is given broad statutory authority to make appointments to the various cabinets and departments of the executive branch, limited somewhat by the adoption of a merit system for state employees in 1960. Because Kentucky's governor controls so many appointments to commissions, the office has been historically considered one of the most powerful state executive positions in the United States. Additionally, the governor's influence has been augmented by wide discretion in awarding state contracts and significant influence over the legislature, although the latter has been waning since the mid-1970s.
The history of the office of governor is largely one of long periods of domination by a single party, though different parties were predominant in different eras. Federalists were rare among Kentuckians during the period of the First Party System, and Democratic Republicans won every gubernatorial election in the state until 1828. The Second Party System began when the Democratic-Republicans split into Jacksonian Democrats (the predecessor of the modern Democratic Party) and National Republicans (later to become Whigs). Beginning with the election of Thomas Metcalfe in 1828, the Whigs dominated the governorship until 1851, with John Breathitt being the only Democrat elected during that period. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+15, Kentucky is the most Republican-leaning state in the nation with a Democratic governor.
With the collapse of the Whig Party in the 1850s, Democrats took control of the governorship for the duration of the Third Party System, with Charles S. Morehead of the Know Nothing Party being the only exception. The election of Republican William O'Connell Bradley in 1895 began the only period of true two-party competition for the governorship; from Bradley's election through 1931, five Republicans and six Democrats held the office of governor of Kentucky. Since 1931, only four Republicans have served as governor of Kentucky, and no Republican governor has ever been re-elected; the most recent past governor, Matt Bevin, lost re-election.
Powers and responsibilities
In all four Kentucky constitutions, the first power enumerated to the governor is to serve as commander-in-chief of the state's militia and military forces.1792 Constitution, Article II, Section 7; 1792 Constitution, Article III, Section 8; 1850 Constitution, Article III, Section 8; 1891 Constitution, Section 75 In 1799, a stipulation was added that the governor would not personally lead troops on the battlefield unless advised to do so by a resolution of the General Assembly. Such a case occurred in 1813 when Governor Isaac Shelby, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, was asked to lead a band of Kentucky troops to aid William Henry Harrison at the Battle of the Thames.Harrison, "Shelby, Isaac" in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, p. 815 For his service, Shelby received the Thanks of Congress and the Congressional Gold Medal.Townsend, p. 19
Among the other powers and responsibilities of the governor that appear in all four constitutions are the power to enforce all laws, the power to fill vacancies in elected offices until the next meeting of the General Assembly, and the power to remit fines and grant pardons.Clark in Kentucky's Governors, p. xv The power to pardon is not applicable to cases of impeachment, and in cases of treason, a gubernatorial pardon is only effective until the end of the next session of the General Assembly, which can grant a full pardon for treason.1791 Constitution, Article II, Section 10; 1799 Constitution, Article III, Section 11; 1850 Constitution, Article III, Section 10; 1891 Constitution, Section 77 The 1891 constitution further required that, with each application for a pardon, the governor file "a statement of the reasons for his decision thereon, which ... shall always be open to public inspection." This requirement was first proposed by a delegate to the 1850 constitutional convention, but it was rejected at that time.Clark in Kentucky's Governors, p. xvii Historically, power in Kentucky's executive has been split amongst a variety of elected positions—including Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Auditor of Public Accounts, Treasurer, and several commissioners—but in the late 20th century, political power has centralized in the office of Governor.Ferguson, p. 290
Convening and adjourning the legislature The power of the governor to adjourn the General Assembly for a period of up to four months if the two houses cannot agree on a time to adjourn appears in all four constitutions.1791 Constitution, Article II, Section 13; 1799 Constitution, Article III, Section 14; 1850 Constitution, Article III, Section 13; 1891 Constitution, Section 80 The governor is also empowered to convene the General Assembly "on extraordinary occasions". Since the 1799 constitution, the governor has been permitted to call the legislature into session somewhere other than the state capital if the capital had, since the last legislative session, "become dangerous from an enemy or from contagious diseases."1799 Constitution, Article III, Section 14; 1850 Constitution, Article III, Section 13; 1891 Constitution, Section 80 This was an important provision in the early days of the Commonwealth, when epidemics like smallpox posed a danger to the populace.Clark in Kentucky's Governors, p. xvi One notable example of an attempt to employ this power was in 1900 when Republican governor William S. Taylor attempted to adjourn the legislature and re-convene it in heavily Republican London, Kentucky following the shooting of William Goebel. Taylor claimed a state of insurrection existed in the capital, but defiant Democrats refused to heed the call to adjourn or to convene in London.Harrison in A New History of Kentucky, p. 272
The 1891 constitution added a provision that the governor must specify the reason for any specially called legislative session, and that no other business could be considered during the session. There is, however, no constitutional requirement that the legislature conduct any business during the called session. In 2007, Republican governor Ernie Fletcher called the Assembly into session to consider a long list of items.Covington, p. A1 The Democratically controlled House of Representatives maintained that none of the items were urgent enough that they could not wait until the regular session convened; they claimed that Fletcher was calling the session only to boost his sagging poll numbers before the upcoming election in which he faced a challenge from Democrat Steve Beshear. The House convened on the day appointed and adjourned an hour later without transacting any business.
Veto Unlike the U.S. President, the governor does not have the option of a pocket veto. If the governor does not make a decision to sign or veto a bill, it automatically becomes law after 10 days. In the event that the legislature adjourns to prevent the return of a bill by veto, the bill becomes law three days after the commencement of the next legislative session unless the governor explicitly vetoes it. (With the federal pocket veto, the bill is considered vetoed after ten days if the legislature adjourns.)
The 1799 constitution contained, for the first time, the power of the governor to veto legislation; this power was substantially similar to, and probably based upon, that found in the 1792 New Hampshire Constitution and the 1798 Georgia Constitution. The 1891 constitution empowered the governor with a line-item veto, but its use was forbidden on constitutional amendments and laws related to the classification of property for tax purposes. The governor's veto can be overridden by roll-call majority votes of both houses of the legislature.1799 Constitution, Article III, Section 25; 1850 Constitution, Article III, Section 22
Budget Although setting the state budget is a legislative function in many states, Kentucky governors are required by statute to present a proposed biennial budget to the General Assembly for approval shortly after the beginning of its even-year sessions.Clark in Kentucky's Governors, p. xxiii The governor's budget has often been approved with few changes, but since the Republicans took control of the state senate for the first time in 1999, approval has become a much more contentious process.Blanchard in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, p. 380 The General Assembly failed to pass a budget before the end of its session in both 2002 and 2004.York, p. A12 In both cases, the state operated under an executive spending plan drafted by the governor until the legislature could re-convene and pass a budget. In 2005 the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the governor had no authority to expend funds without legislative approval, and that if legislators failed to pass a budget in the future, only expenditures explicitly authorized in the state constitution could be made.
Administration and appointments Although the Kentucky constitution designates the governor as the head of the executive branch of state government, it does not specify the means of carrying out that role.Freedman, p. 1 Empowered to nominate all constitutional officers by the state's first constitution, that power of the office of the governor has been reduced in subsequent constitutions, as more of those offices became elective.Clark in Kentucky's Governors, pp. xv–xvii Because the governor is not explicitly authorized by the constitution to conduct many of the functions necessary to administer the state government, the officeholder has had to rely on empowering legislation enacted by the General Assembly. With this in mind, Kentucky historian Thomas D. Clark wrote in 2004 that extensive executive powers had been granted through the creation of a large number of commissions that reported to the governor: During the past century and a half, and especially in the later 20th century, it would have been impossible for state government to operate efficiently without a broadening of executive powers. Through the years the General Assembly has created a myriad of commissions and turned them over to the governor to exercise administrative oversight. ... All of these commissions extended the influence of the governor into every phase of human life in the commonwealth, well beyond the limitations of executive power envisioned by delegates to the constitutional convention in 1891.Clark in Kentucky's Governors, p. xviii