Southern Governors Association
Encyclopedia
Southern Governors' Association (SGA) was founded in 1934, and is the oldest and historically the largest of the United States' regional governors' associations. Since its first meeting 75 years ago to discuss the repeal of discriminatory rates for transporting goods by rail, SGA has represented the common interests of Southern states' chief executives and provided a vehicle for promoting them. The ongoing mission of SGA is to support the work of the governors by providing a bipartisan, regional forum to help shape and implement national policy and to solve state and regional problems. Currently, the association consists of 7 Democrats and 11 Republicans.
SGA pursues this mission by coordinating regionally collaborative initiatives, tracking and analyzing federal legislation and regulations of interest to the American South, advocating before Congress and the executive branch SGA's policy agenda as expressed through approved policy resolutions and by convening meetings for Southern Governors and their staffs.
The current SGA Chairman is Luis Fortuño
of Puerto Rico
.
SGA pursues this mission by coordinating regionally collaborative initiatives, tracking and analyzing federal legislation and regulations of interest to the American South, advocating before Congress and the executive branch SGA's policy agenda as expressed through approved policy resolutions and by convening meetings for Southern Governors and their staffs.
The current SGA Chairman is Luis Fortuño
Luis Fortuño
Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset is the governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States of America. Fortuño is also the president of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico , a member of the Republican National Committee, and will be president of the Council of State...
of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
List of current Southern Governors
Current Governor Governor A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state... |
State U.S. state A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of... |
Past | Party | Elected/took office | Seat Up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robert J. Bentley | Alabama Alabama Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland... |
List | Republican | 2011 | 2014 |
Mike Beebe | Arkansas Arkansas Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River... |
List | Democratic | 2006 | 2014 (term-limited) |
Nathan Deal Nathan Deal John Nathan Deal is a United States politician, the 82nd and current Governor of Georgia. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1992 but switched to the Republican Party in 1995... |
Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788... |
List | Republican | 2011 | 2014 |
Rick Scott | Florida Florida Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it... |
List | Republican | 2010 | 2014 |
Steve Beshear Steve Beshear Steven Lynn "Steve" Beshear is an American politician who is the 61st Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A Democrat, Beshear previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1979, was the state's Attorney General from 1980 to 1983, and was Lieutenant Governor from... |
Kentucky Kentucky The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth... |
List | Democratic | 2007 | 2011 |
Bobby Jindal Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party.... |
Louisiana Louisiana Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties... |
List | Republican | 2007 | 2011 |
Martin O'Malley Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley is an American Democratic politician who is currently serving as the 61st Governor of Maryland. Previously, he served as the mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007. He is currently the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.-Early life, education and career:O'Malley... |
Maryland Maryland Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east... |
List | Democratic | 2006 | 2014 (term-limited) |
Haley Barbour Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour is an American Republican politician currently serving as the 63rd Governor of Mississippi. He gained a national spotlight in August 2005 after Mississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Barbour won re-election as Governor in 2007... |
Mississippi Mississippi Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi... |
List | Republican | 2003 | 2011 (term-limited) |
Jay Nixon Jay Nixon Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon, Sr. is the 55th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Missouri. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Missouri's Attorney General before his election in 2008.-Political career:... |
Missouri Missouri Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It... |
List | Democratic | 2008 | 2012 |
Bev Perdue Bev Perdue Beverly Eaves "Bev" Perdue is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party currently serving as the 73rd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina. She is the first female governor of North Carolina.... |
North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte... |
List | Democratic | 2008 | 2012 |
Mary Fallin Mary Fallin Mary Fallin is the 27th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. She was a U.S. Representative for from 2007 until 2011.... |
Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state... |
List | Republican | 2011 | 2014 |
Luis Fortuño Luis Fortuño Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset is the governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States of America. Fortuño is also the president of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico , a member of the Republican National Committee, and will be president of the Council of State... |
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an... |
List | Republican/NPP | 2008 | 2012 |
Nikki Haley Nikki Haley Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley is the 116th and current Governor of South Carolina. A member of the Republican Party, Haley represented Lexington County in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2005 to 2010.... |
South Carolina South Carolina South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence... |
List | Republican | 2011 | 2014 |
Bill Haslam Bill Haslam William Edward "Bill" Haslam is the 49th and current Governor of Tennessee. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam was elected to office in 2010... |
Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area... |
List | Republican | 2011 | 2014 |
Rick Perry Rick Perry James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full... |
Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in... |
List | Republican | 2000 | 2014 |
John deJongh | U.S. Virgin Islands | List | Democratic | 2006 | 2014 |
Bob McDonnell Bob McDonnell Robert Francis "Bob" McDonnell is an American politician who has been the 71st Governor of Virginia since January 2010. A former lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, McDonnell served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1993 to 2006 and served as Attorney General of Virginia from 2006... |
Virginia Virginia The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there... |
List | Republican | 2010 | 2013 (term-limited) |
Earl Ray Tomblin Earl Ray Tomblin Earl Ray Tomblin is an American politician who serves as the 35th and current Governor of West Virginia. Tomblin is a member of the Democratic Party. Tomblin has served as President of the West Virginia State Senate for over 16 years. He became Acting Governor in 2010 following Joe Manchin's... |
West Virginia West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east... |
List | Democratic | 2010 | 2011 |