Previous Governors of Ohio

Richard Michael DeWine is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th governor of Ohio since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 50th attorney general of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, as a United States senator from Ohio from 1995 to 2007, and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991.

John Richard Kasich Jr. is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and was a candidate for the presidential nomination in 2000 and 2016.

Theodore Strickland is an American politician who served as the 68th governor of Ohio from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented Ohio's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995, and again from 1997 to 2007. As of 2026, he is the most recent Democrat to serve as governor of Ohio.

Robert Alphonso Taft III is an American politician and attorney who served as the 67th governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Ohio secretary of state from 1991 to 1999 and in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981.

Nancy Elizabeth Hollister is an American politician who was the 66th governor of Ohio from December 1998 to January 1999. Hollister was the first and, to date, only female Ohio governor. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 60th lieutenant governor of Ohio under George Voinovich and succeeded him after he resigned to join the U.S. Senate. Hollister later served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1999 to 2004.

George Victor Voinovich was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was a United States senator from Ohio from 1999 to 2011, the 65th governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998, and the 54th mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989. He is the most recent Republican to serve as mayor of Cleveland as of 2026.

Richard Frank Celeste is an American former politician, diplomat, and college administrator. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 64th governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991. Celeste also served as the 55th lieutenant governor of Ohio from 1975 to 1979, 9th director of the Peace Corps from 1979 to 1981, and as United States Ambassador to India from 1997 to 2001. After leaving politics, he was the president of Colorado College. Celeste remains the last Democrat to win re-election as governor of Ohio.

James Allen Rhodes was an American politician who served as the 61st and 63rd governor of Ohio from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1975 to 1983. A member of the Republican Party, he was the Ohio state auditor from 1953 to 1963 and the mayor of Columbus, Ohio, from 1944 to 1952. Rhodes was one of only seven U.S. governors to serve four four-year terms in office and is tied for the sixth-longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,840 days.

John Joyce "Jack" Gilligan was an American politician who served as the 62nd governor of Ohio from 1971 to 1975. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented Ohio's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1967 and later served as the 6th administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. Gilligan was a World War II veteran and the father of Kathleen Sebelius, who served as governor of Kansas and United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.

James Allen Rhodes was an American politician who served as the 61st and 63rd governor of Ohio from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1975 to 1983. A member of the Republican Party, he was the Ohio state auditor from 1953 to 1963 and the mayor of Columbus, Ohio, from 1944 to 1952. Rhodes was one of only seven U.S. governors to serve four four-year terms in office and is tied for the sixth-longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,840 days.