Territory of Jefferson The self-proclaimed
Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson was organized on November 7, 1859. Jefferson Territory included all of present-day Colorado, but extended about farther east, farther north, and about farther west. The territory was never recognized by the
federal government in the tumultuous days before the
American Civil War. The Jefferson Territory had only one governor,
Robert Williamson Steele, a pro-union Democrat elected by popular vote. He proclaimed the territory dissolved on June 6, 1861, several months after the official formation of the
Colorado Territory, but only days after the arrival of its first governor.
Territory of Colorado The
Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28, 1861, from parts of the territories of
New Mexico,
Utah, and
Nebraska, and the unorganized territory that was previously the western portion of
Kansas Territory.
State of Colorado The State of Colorado was
admitted to the Union on August 1, 1876. To serve as governor, one must be at least 30 years old, be a citizen of the United States, and have been a resident of the state for at least two years prior to election. The
state constitution of 1876 originally called for election of the governor every two years, with their term beginning on the second Tuesday of the January following the election. An amendment passed in 1956, taking effect in 1959, increased terms to four years. Originally, there was no
term limit applied to the governor; a 1990 amendment allowed governors to succeed themselves only once. There is however no limit on the total number of terms one may serve as long as one who has served the two term limit is out of office for four years. Should the office of governor become vacant, the
lieutenant governor becomes governor. If both the offices governor and lieutenant governor are vacant, the line of succession moves down through the senior members of the state senate and state house of representatives of the same party as the governor. The lieutenant governor was elected separately from the governor until a 1968 amendment to the constitution made it so that they are elected on the same
ticket. ==Timeline==