Well, I went and did some research for you going back to the late 19th century (before that, there’d be a larger pool). After the early 1890s, 4 states elected back-to-back foreign born Governors. 3 elected 2 in a row (ID, NV & OR), 1 elected 3 (!) in a row, Utah. The high point seemed to have come in the 1910s when at least 3 or more states had at least 1 foreign-born Governor. But Idaho was the “last” to elect 2 in a row — in 1918. Utah the last to elect 3 in a row — in 1916 (of those 3, the first two were English born, whose parents were Mormon converts that moved out West, both Republicans; the third was a German Jew Democrat who beat the incumbent English Mormon in an upset. That’s the last Jew ever to serve as Governor of UT).
As follows:
AL - None after 1890
AK - None after statehood, 1959
AZ - (After statehood, 1912); Raul Castro of Sonora, Mexico (1975-77)
AR - None after 1893
CA - (After 1891); Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austria (2003-
CO - None after statehood, 1875
CT - (After 1893); Hiram Bingham of Hawaii (then a foreign country, born to missionary parents) (1925); John Dempsey of Ireland (naturalized) (1961-71); Lowell Weicker, Paris, France (1991-95)
DE - None after 1895
FL - None after 1881
GA - None after 1894
HI - None after statehood, 1959
*ID - (After statehood, 1890); Frank Robert Gooding of England (naturalized) (1905-09); Moses Alexander of Bavaria (Germany) (1915-19); David William Davis of Wales (naturalized) (1919-23)
IL - (After 1873); John Peter Altgeld of Germany (1893-97); Samuel Shapiro, Estonia (naturalized) (1968-69) (not elected)
IN - None after 1891
IA - None after 1894
KS - None after 1893
KY - None after 1875
LA - None after 1892
ME - None after 1897
MD - None after 1896
MA - (After 1896); Christian Herter, Paris, France (1953-57)
MI - (After 1897); Fred M. Warner of England (naturalized-adopted by American couple) (1905-11); John Burley Swainson of Ontario (naturalized) (1961-63); George Romney: Chihuahua, Mexico (1963-69); Jennifer Granholm, Canada (2003-
MN - (After 1895); John Lind of Sweden (1899-1901); Adolph Olson Eberhart of Sweden (1909-15); Hjalmar Petersen of Denmark (1936-37)
MS - None after 1896
MO - None after 1897
MT - (After statehood, 1893); Frank Henry Cooney of Canada (naturalized) (1933-35); John Hugo Aronson of Sweden (naturalized) (1953-61); Stan Stephens of Canada (naturalized) (1989-93)
NE - None after 1893
**NV - John Edward Jones, Wales (naturalized) (1895-96); Reinhold Sadler, Prussia (naturalized) 1896-1903 (Jones and Sadler had an interesting distinction as they were running mates, both foreign born, Jones died in office, Sadler elected in his own right)
NH - (After 1893); John McLane of Scotland (naturalized) (1905-07); John Sununu of Cuba (1983-89)
NJ - None after 1887
NM - (After statehood, 1912); Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo of Chihuahua, Mexico (naturalized) (1919-21)
NY - None after 1892
NC - None after 1893
ND - (After statehood, 1889); Roger Allin of England (then became Canadian citizen) (naturalized) (1895-97); Ragnvold Anderson Nestos of Norway (naturalized) (1921-25); Walter Welford of England (naturalized) (1935-37) - succeeded Gov. Moodie (who was removed office for not meeting state residency requirements); John Moses of Norway (naturalized) (1939-45)
OH - None after 1890
OK - None after Statehood, 1907
***OR - (After 1887); Oswald West of Ontario, Canada (naturalized) (1911-15); James Withycombe of England (naturalized) (1915-19); Albin Walter Norblad, Sr. of Sweden (naturalized) (1929-31) - succeeded Gov. Patterson (deceased)
PA - (After 1883); John Kinley Tener of Ireland (1911-15)
RI - (After 1887); Aram Pothier of Quebec, Canada (naturalized) (1909-15; 1925-28)
SC - None after 1890
SD - (After statehood, 1889); Andrew Ericson Lee of Norway (naturalized) (1897-1901); Sigurd Anderson of Norway (naturalized) (1951-55)
TN - None after 1883
TX - None after 1891
****UT - (After statehood, 1896); John Christopher Cutler of England (naturalized) (1905-09) William Spry of England (naturalized) (1909-17); Simon Bamberger of Germany (naturalized) (1917-21)
VT - (After 1890); Josiah Grout of Quebec, Canada (1896-98); Joseph Blaine Johnson of Sweden (1955-59); Madeleine M. Kunin of Switzerland (naturalized) (1985-91)
VA - (After 1890); Westmoreland Davis (American citizen, but born in Atlantic Ocean en route to England) (1918-22)
WA - (After statehood, 1889); Ernest Lister of England (naturalized) (1913-19); Roland H. Hartley of New Brunswick, Canada (naturalized) (1925-33)
WV - None after statehood, 1863
WI - (After 1889); James O. Davidson of Norway (1906-11); Julius Peter Heil of Germany (naturalized) 1939-43
WY - None after statehood, 1890
DJ, thanks for your herculean effort. Hopefully, MI, and not CA, will become the first state 90 years to elect two straight foreign-born, naturalized governors.
Some of the guys on your list were U.S. citizens at birth because they had U.S. citizen parents; Lowell Weicker comes to mind. But the Idaho governors appear to be legit naturalized citizens.
Very interesting. That commie Altgeld huh. The worst Illinoisans come from foreign lands...;p
Wasn’t 1894 just as good a Republican year as 1920?
The rats were clearly the bad guys since then with jerks like Altgeld and Bryan wresting the national party from the Bourbons.
If I was a Congressional district Id’ve been GOP held at least since then.