Can Inslee Stay Governor of Washington State Forever?
With new rumors that Washington State Governor Jay Inslee is going to run for office again, I was wondering. Can Inslee stay Governor of Washington State forever or is there a limit?
DOES WASHINGTON HAVE TERM LIMITS? According to Wikipedia, "the governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington State and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Washington Legislature and line-item veto power to cancel specific provisions in spending bills. The Washington governor may also convene the legislature on "extraordinary occasions". In order for Inslee to continue being Governor, he needs to keep winning elections but can he keep running as long as he is alive? Turns out that Washington State has "no term limits" for the office of Governor. So yes, he can be Governor forever if he keeps winning elections.
HOW LONG HAS INSLEE BEEN GOVERNOR? Inslee was elected to office in 2012 and might run for his 4th term. If he runs and wins, Inslee will be the first and only Governor from Washington State elected for a 4th term. Only one other Governor served 3 terms, Daniel J Evens from 1965-1976 in Washington State. The rest have been 2 terms or less.
DO OTHER STATES HAVE NO TERM LIMITS? Washington State is not the only state with no term limits for State Governors. There are also no term limits in Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. At the end of his 3rd term Inslee will have been Governor for about 4,000 days. He is just off the top 50 list for longest serving Governors in US history. The man that hold that record now is Terry Branstad of Iowa for just over 8,000 days. If he wins a 5th, 6th, or god forbid 7th term he has a chance of beating that record and being the longest serving Governor in US history.