During the territorial period of Arizona, the Governor was selected due to a pork barrel system. All of Arizona's Governors were appointed by the President of the United States. Even though the political preference of most Arizonans were Democrats, the Presidential administration was usually Republican from Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War until Democrat Grover Cleveland was elected in 1885. The party would switch several times causing the territory of Arizona to through much turmoil in the governorship.  A governor might be removed from office simply because he was a Democrat, and the new President was now Republican or vice versa. When Arizona became a state,  the State Governors were elected every two years intending it to be a weak executive branch. Many of the Governors would prove that it was not to be. The Governors were not elected to four year terms until Governor Bruce Babbit.

Territorial Governors

John Goodwin (1863-1866)
Richard C. McCormick (1866-1869)
A.P.K. Safford (1869-1877)
John P. Hoyt (1877-1878)
John C. Fremont (1878-1882)
Frederick Tritle (1882-1885)
Conrad M. Zulick (1885-1889)
Lewis Wolfley (1889-1890)
John N. Irwin (1890-1892)
Nathan Oakes Murphy (1892-1893)*
Louis C. Hughes (1893-1896)
Benjamin Franklin (1896-1897)
Myron H. McCord (1897-1898)
Nathan Oakes Murphy (1898-1902)*
Alexander O. Brodie (1902-1905)
Joseph H. Kibbey (1905-1909)
Richard E. Sloan (1909-1912)
 

State Governors

George W. P. Hunt (1912-1919)*
Thomas E. Campbell (1919-1923)
George W.P. Hunt (1923-1929)*
John C. Phillips (1929-1931)
George W.P. Hunt (1931-1933)*
Dr. Benjamin B. Moeur (1933-1937)
Rawghlie C. Stanford (1937-1939)
Robert T. Jones (1939-1941)
Sidney P. Osborn (1941-1948)
Dan E. Garvey (1948-1951)
J. Howard Pyle (1951-1955)
Ernest W. McFarland (1955-1959)
Paul J. Fannin (1959-1965)
Samuel P. Goddard (1965-1967)
Jack Williams (1967-1975)
Raul H. Castro (1975-1977)
Harvey Wesley Bolin (1977-1978)
Bruce E. Babbit (1978-1986)
Evan Mecham (1986-1987)
Rose Mofford (1987-1991)
Fyfe Symington (1991-1997)
Jane Dee Hull (1997-2003)
Janet Napolitano (2003-present)

* Served terms non-consecutively
 

Websites

Photographs of all of Arizona's Governors
http://www.governor.state.az.us/kids/govs.cfm

Political Graveyard- Territorial Governors
http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/AZ/ofc/trgv.html

Office of the Governor of Arizona
http://www.governor.state.az.us/
 

Books/Manuscripts found in the ASU Library Catalog

The Arizona governors, 1912-1990/ John L. Myers, editor-in-chief.
F810 .A68x

Arizona history and government / Ray Everett.
JK8225 1977 .E93

Arizona biographical dictionary / by John S. Goff.
F810 .G6x

Arizona Territory, 1863-1912; a political history [by] Jay J. Wagoner.
F811 .W27

Territorial governors, 1863-1912 / [compiled by] Jay Wagoner, instructor ; mimeographed by Ruby Pippett
F810 .T47x

American biographical encyclopedia : profiles of prominent personalities. by P. W. Pollock
F810 .A4x

Arizona's men of achievement. by P. W. Pollock
F810 .A7x
 

Photographs courtesy of
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records
1700 W. Washington, Phoenix 85007-3210
(602) 542-4675, Tours (602) 542-4581
http://www.dlapr.lib.az.us/index.html