List of African-American statewide elected officials

This is a list of African Americans who have served in statewide elected executive offices in the United States, whether they were elected, succeeded or appointed to such elected office. These state constitutional officers have their duties and qualifications mandated in state constitutions. This list does not include those elected to serve in non-executive branches of government, such as justices of the state supreme courts or at-large members of the state legislatures. This list also excludes federal legislators, such as the two members of the United States Senate elected from each state or at-large members of the United States House of Representatives.

States where African-Americans have served as statewide executive officials:

  African-American statewide officeholders (all Republican) 1868-1887

  States which have only elected/appointed African-American Democrats as statewide officeholders (1963-present)

  States which have only elected/appointed African-American Republicans as statewide officeholders (1963-present)

  States which have elected/appointed African-Americans from both parties (1963-present)

Governors

  Denotes incumbent Governor

• Italics denotes acting Governor

Portrait	Name	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes
	P. B. S. Pinchback (1837–1921)	Republican	Louisiana	December 9, 1872	January 13, 1873	Elevated from lieutenant governor. Term ended.
	Douglas Wilder[1] (born 1931)	Democratic	Virginia	January 13, 1990	January 15, 1994	Term limited
	Deval Patrick (born 1956)	Democratic	Massachusetts	January 4, 2007	January 8, 2015	Retired
	David Paterson (born 1954)	Democratic	New York	March 17, 2008	December 31, 2010	Elevated to office from lieutenant governor. Retired

Territorial Governors

  Denotes incumbent Governor

• Italics denotes acting Governor

Portrait	Name	Party	Territory	Term start	Term end	Notes
	Walter Washington (1915–2003)	Democratic	District of Columbia	November 7, 1967	January 2, 1979	Appointed as Mayor-Commissioner before being elected in his own right Lost renomination
	Marion Barry (1936–2014)	Democratic	District of Columbia	January 2, 1979	January 2, 1991	Retired
				January 2, 1995	January 2, 1999	Retired
	Sharon Pratt (born 1944)	Democratic	District of Columbia	January 2, 1991	January 2, 1995	Lost renomination
	Anthony Williams (born 1951)	Democratic	District of Columbia	January 2, 1999	January 2, 2007	Retired
	Adrian Fenty (born 1970)	Democratic	District of Columbia	January 2, 2007	January 2, 2011	Lost renomination
	Vincent Gray (born 1942)	Democratic	District of Columbia	January 2, 2011	January 2, 2015	Lost renomination
	Muriel Bowser (born 1972)	Democratic	District of Columbia	January 2, 2015	present

Lieutenant-Governors

  Denotes incumbent lieutenant governor

• Italics denotes acting lieutenant governor

Portrait	Name	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes
	Oscar Dunn (1826–1871)	Republican	Louisiana	June 27, 1868	November 22, 1871	Died
	Alonzo Ransier[2] (1834–1882)	Republican	South Carolina	December 3, 1870	December 7, 1872	Retired to run successfully for South Carolina's 2nd congressional district
	Alexander K. Davis[3]	Republican	Mississippi	November 30, 1871	March 29, 1876	Retired
	P. B. S. Pinchback (1837–1921)	Republican	Louisiana	December 6, 1871	December 9, 1872	Elevated to governor
	Richard Gleaves (1819–1907)	Republican	South Carolina	December 7, 1872	December 14, 1876	Lost reelection
	Caesar Antoine (1836–1921)	Republican	Louisiana	May 22, 1873	April 24, 1877	Lost reelection
	Mervyn Dymally[4] (1926–2012)	Democratic	California	January 6, 1975	January 8, 1979	Lost reelection
	George Brown (1926–2006)	Democratic	Colorado	January 14, 1975	January 10, 1979	Retired
	Douglas Wilder (born 1931)	Democratic	Virginia	January 18, 1986	January 12, 1990	Retired to run successfully for governor
	Joe Rogers (1964–2013)	Republican	Colorado	January 12, 1999	January 14, 2003	Retired
	Jennette Bradley (born 1952)	Republican	Ohio	January 13, 2003	January 5, 2005	Resigned to become Ohio Treasurer
	Michael Steele[5] (born 1958)	Republican	Maryland	January 15, 2003	January 17, 2007	Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator of Maryland
	David Paterson (born 1954)	Democratic	New York	January 1, 2007	March 17, 2008	Elevated to governor
	Anthony Brown (born 1961)	Democratic	Maryland	January 17, 2007	January 21, 2015	Retired to run unsuccessfully for governor
	Malcolm Smith (born 1956)	Democratic	New York	January 7, 2009	June 8, 2009	Resigned
	Jennifer Carroll (born 1959)	Republican	Florida	January 4, 2011	March 12, 2013	Resigned
	Boyd Rutherford (born 1957)	Republican	Maryland	January 21, 2015	present
	Jenean Hampton (born 1958)	Republican	Kentucky	December 8, 2015	December 9, 2019	Retired
	Justin Fairfax (born 1979)	Democratic	Virginia	January 13, 2018	present
	Sheila Oliver (born 1952)	Democratic	New Jersey	January 16, 2018	present
	Garlin Gilchrist (born 1982)	Democratic	Michigan	January 1, 2019	present
	Mandela Barnes (born 1986)	Democratic	Wisconsin	January 7, 2019	present
	Juliana Stratton (born 1965)	Democratic	Illinois	January 14, 2019	present

Attorneys General

  Denotes incumbent attorney general

• Italics denotes acting attorney general

Picture	Name	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes	Ref
	Edward Brooke (1919-2015)	Republican	Massachusetts	January 3, 1963	January 3, 1967	Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senate from Massachusetts	[6]
	Roland Burris (1937-present)	Democratic	Illinois	January 14, 1991	January 9, 1995	Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Illinois	[7]
	Pamela Carter (1949-present)	Democratic	Indiana	January 13, 1993	January 16, 1997	Retired	[8][9]
	Thurbert Baker (1952-present)	Democratic	Georgia	June 1, 1997	January 10, 2011	Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor of Georgia	[10]
	Karen Freeman-Wilson (1960-present)	Democratic	Indiana	June 8, 2000	January 14, 2001	Lost reelection	[11]
	Peter C. Harvey (1952-present)	Democratic	New Jersey	June 16, 2003	January 30, 2006	Retired.	[12]
	Kamala Harris (1964-present)	Democratic	California	January 3, 2011	January 3, 2017	Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senate from California	[13]
	Curtis Hill (?-present)	Republican	Indiana	January 9, 2017	present		[14]
	Letitia James (1958-present)	Democratic	New York	January 1, 2019	present		[15]
	Kwame Raoul (1964-present)	Democratic	Illinois	January 14, 2019	present		[16]
	Aaron Ford (1972-present)	Democratic	Nevada	January 7, 2019	present		[17]
	Keith Ellison (1963-present)	Democratic	Minnesota	January 7, 2019	present		[18]
	Daniel Cameron (1985-present)	Republican	Kentucky	December 17, 2019	present	Elected as Attorney General, but appointed early as acting Attorney by Governor Andy Beshear, the preceding state Attorney General who himself was elected Governor, and took office early.

Territorial Attorneys General

  Denotes incumbent attorney general

• Italics denotes acting attorney general

Portrait	Name	Party	Territory	Term start	Term end	Notes	Ref
	Karl Racine (1963-present)	Democratic	District of Columbia	January 2, 2015	present

Secretaries of State

  Denotes incumbent Secretary of State

• Italics denotes acting Secretary of State

Picture	Name	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes	Ref
	Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs (1821-1874)	Republican	Florida	1868	1872	Appointed Superintendent of Public Instruction
	Pierre G. Deslonde	Republican	Louisiana	1872	1876	Retired
	James Lynch (1839–1872)	Republican	Mississippi	1869	1872	Retired
	Hiram Revels (1827-1901)	Republican	Mississippi	1872	1873	Retired
	Hannibal C. Carter	Republican	Mississippi	1873	1873	Retired
	M.M. McLeod	Republican	Mississippi	1873	1873	Retired
	James Hill	Republican	Mississippi	1874	1878	Retired
	Francis Cardozo (1836-1903)	Republican	South Carolina	1868	1872	Elected State Treasurer
	Henry Hayne (b.c. 1840-???)	Republican	South Carolina	1872	1877	Resigned
	Richard Austin (1913-2001)	Democratic	Michigan	January 1, 1971	January 1, 1995	Lost re-election	[19]
	C. Delores Tucker (1927-2005)	Democratic	Pennsylvania	January 20, 1971	August 21, 1977	Fired	[20]
	Basil Paterson (1926-2014)	Democratic	New York	January 1, 1979	January 1, 1983	Retired	[21]
	Vel Phillips (1923-2018)	Democratic	Wisconsin	January 3, 1979	January 3, 1983	Lost re-nomination	[22]
	Ethel D. Allen (1929-1981)	Republican	Pennsylvania	January 16, 1979	October 16, 1979	Fired
	Jesse McCrary (1937-2007)	Democratic	Florida	July 19, 1978	January 2, 1979	Retired
	Myra McDaniel (1932-2010)	Democratic	Texas	August 6, 1984	January 26, 1987	Retired	[23]
	Hannah Atkins (1923-2010)	Democratic	Oklahoma	1987	1991	Retired
	Vikki Buckley (1948-1999)	Republican	Colorado	1994	1999	Died	[24]
	Lonna Hooks (?-)	Republican	New Jersey	1994	1998	Retired
	DeForest Soaries (1951-)	Republican	New Jersey	January 1, 1999	January 1, 2002	Retired
	Ken Blackwell (1948-)	Republican	Ohio	January 8, 1999	January 8, 2007	Retired to run unsuccessfully for governor
	Jesse White (1934-)	Democratic	Illinois	January 11, 1999	present
	Randy Daniels (1950-)	Republican	New Jersey	2001	2005	Retired
	Regena Thomas (?-)	Democratic	New Jersey	2002	2006	Retired
	Nina Mitchell Wells (1950-)	Democratic	New Jersey	January 19, 2006	January 19, 2010	Retired
	Robyn Crittenden (?-?)	Republican	Georgia	November 8, 2018	January 14, 2019	Appointed by governor to fill predecessor's remaining term, retired
	Tahesha Way (1969-)	Democratic	New Jersey	January 16, 2018	present

Labor Commissioners

  Denotes incumbent Labor Commissioner

• Italics denotes acting Labor Commissioner

Picture	Name	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes	Ref
	Al Scott (1947-Present)	Democratic	Georgia	1990	1992	Appointed by governor, resigned to serve on State Board of Education
	Mike Thurmond (1953-)	Democratic	Georgia	January 11, 1999	January 10, 2011	Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate

Auditors or Comptrollers

  Denotes incumbent Auditor or Comptroller

• Italics denotes acting Auditor or Comptroller

Picture	Name	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes	Ref
	Edward McCabe (1850-1920)	Republican	Kansas	January 8, 1883	January 10, 1887	Lost re-nomination
	Roland Burris (1937-present)	Democratic	Illinois	January 8, 1979	January 14, 1991	Retired to run successfully for Attorney General of Illinois
	Carl McCall (1935-)	Democratic	New York	May 7, 1993	December 31, 2002	Retired to run unsuccessfully for Governor
	Ralph Campbell (1946-2011)	Democratic	North Carolina	January 3, 1993	January 4, 2005	Lost re-election
	Randy Brock (1943-)	Republican	Vermont	January 3, 2005	January 4, 2007	Lost reelection
	Dwayne Sawyer (1966-)	Republican	Indiana	August 19, 2013	December 15, 2013	Resigned

Superintendents of Education

  Denotes incumbent Superintendent

• Italics denotes acting Superintendent

Picture	Name	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes	Ref
	William Brown (1832-1883)	Republican	Louisiana	1872	1874	Lost reelection
	Thomas Cardozo (1838-1881)	Republican	Mississippi	1873	1875	Lost reelection
	Joseph Corbin (1833-1911)	Republican	Arkansas	1873	1875	Lost reelection
	Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs (1821-1874)	Republican	Florida	1872	1874	Died
	Wilson Riles (1917-1999)	Democratic	California	1971	1983	Lost reelection
	Doug Jamerson (1947-2001)	Democratic	Florida	1994	1995	Lost election
	Michael Williams (1953-)	Republican	Texas	August 27, 2012	December 31, 2015	Retired
	Carolyn Stanford Taylor (1957-)	Democratic	Wisconsin	January 7, 2019	present
	Tony Thurmond (1968-)	Democratic	California	January 7, 2019	present

Treasurers

  Denotes incumbent Treasurer

• Italics denotes acting Treasurer

Picture	Name	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes	Ref
	Antoine Dubuclet (1810-1887)	Republican	Louisiana	1868	1878	Retired
	Francis Cardozo (1836-1903)	Republican	South Carolina	August 1, 1872	May 1, 1877	Retired
	Gerald Lamb (1924-2014)	Democratic	Connecticut	1963	1970	Retired
	Henry E. Parker (1928-2018)	Democratic	Connecticut	1974	1986	Resigned
	Loren E. Monroe (1932-2019)[25]	Republican	Michigan	1978	1982	Retired
	James B. Lewis (1947-)	Democratic	New Mexico	1985	1990	Retired
				2007	2015	Retired
	Jim Hill (1947-)	Democratic	Oregon	January 1, 1993	January 1, 2001	Retired
	Richard Dixon (1938-2012)	Democratic	Maryland	1996	2002	Retired
	Denise Nappier (1951-)	Democratic	Connecticut	January 3, 1999	January 9, 2019	Retired
	Jennette Bradley (1952-)	Republican	Ohio	January 13, 2005	January 5, 2007	Lost renomination
	Michellene Davis (?-present)	Democratic	New Jersey	September 2007	January 2008	acting
	Velda Jones-Potter (?-present)	Democratic	Delaware	January 1, 2009	January 1, 2011	Lost renomination
	Chip Flowers (1974-)	Democratic	Delaware	January 1, 2011	January 1, 2015	Retired
	Shawn Wooden	Democratic	Connecticut	January 3, 2019	present	Incumbent

Public Utilities Commissioners

  Denotes incumbent Public Utilities Commissioner

• Italics denotes acting Public Utilities Commissioner

Picture	Name	Party	State	Term start	Term end	Notes	Ref
	Wilson Goode (1938-)	Democratic	Pennsylvania	1979	1980	Retired after being appointed as Managing Director of Philadelphia
	J.C. Watts (1957-)	Republican	Oklahoma	1990	1995	Retired after winning election as U.S. Representative

References

1. Previously served as lieutenant governor.
2. Later served as U.S. Representative from South Carolina's 2nd congressional district.
3. https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/2357
4. Later served as U.S. Representative from California's 31st congressional district.
5. Later served as Chair of the Republican National Committee.
6. "The Honorable Edward Brooke's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
7. "BURRIS , Roland | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
8. Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 67, p. 12.
9. Jennifer M. York, Who's Who Among African Americans. Gale, 2003.
10. "Thurbert Baker's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
11. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=4411. Missing or empty |title= (help)
12. "The Honorable Peter C. Harvey, '79". www.alumni.morgan.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
13. "13 Trailblazing Facts About Kamala Harris". mentalfloss.com. 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
14. Walker, Kayla (13 November 2018). "Curtis Hill Named Vice Chair of GOP Attorneys General Assoc". Nuvo. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
15. Mays, Jeffery C. (31 December 2018). "N.Y.'s New Attorney General Is Targeting Trump. Will Judges See a 'Political Vendetta?'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
16. "Illinois Attorney General Democratic nominee: Kwame Raoul". Chicago Sun-Times. 14 October 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
17. Lockhead, Colton (14 November 2018). "Aaron Ford setting priorities for his time as Nevada attorney general". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
18. Montemayor, Stephen (7 January 2019). "Keith Ellison ushers in new era for Minnesota Attorney General's Office". Star Tribune. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
19. "MSU Libraries: Richard H. Austin".
20. "State secretary Tucker fired by Shapp" (PDF). The Daily Collegian. September 22, 1977. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 9, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
21. "Basil Paterson dead, trailblazing NY politician and former Gov. David Paterson's father was 87". Newsday. 2010-11-02. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
22. "Pioneering civil rights leader Vel Phillips dies". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
23. "Myra McDaniel". The HistoryMakers. The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
24. "Victoria Buckley; Colorado Secretary of State, GOP Star". The Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles Times. 17 July 1999. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
25. https://michiganchronicle.com/2019/06/03/loren-monroe-first-black-state-treasurer-of-michigan-dead-at-87/