One term Governors

[JMT]

The thread on half terms and term limits got me thinking about one term Governors. What are some examples of one-term Governors voluntarily not seeking reelection to a second term? And why did they not seek a second term? I can think of two off the top of my head:

-Mitt Romney decided not to seek reelection in 2006 as Governor of Massachusetts. It wasn't a sure bet Romney would win reelection, especially given 2006 was a good year for Democrats. With Romney planning a 2008 run for President, Romney probably didn't want to risk losing reelection, since it would look bad.
-Charlie Crist didn't run for reelection in 2010 as Governor of Florida. Crist instead ran for Senate, and lost.

*Also, I'm not including Virginia Governors in this, because Virginia has a one term limit.

[Left Wing]

Mike Lowry did not seek a second term because of a harassment allegation.

[Roll Roons]

-Pence was going to seek reelection in 2016 but dropped out when Trump picked him as his running mate.

-Jack Dalrymple (R-ND) retired in 2016 and Jodi Rell (R-CT) retired in 2010. Both ascended after their predecessors resigned (for extremely different reasons), won one full term, and then didn't seek a second. Not sure why, because both were very popular and would have won easily.

-Matt Blunt (R-MO) retired in 2008. I think he had some ethical scandals.

-Dick Codey (D-NJ) became governor in 2004 after McGreevey resigned, and then didn't seek the full term to make way for Jon Corzine.

[brucejoel99]

- Kathleen Blanco (D-LA) didn't seek re-election in 2007 because her popularity never recovered from Katrina.

- Bev Perdue (D-NC) didn't seek re-election in 2012 due to her sinking approval ratings.

[Left Wing]

Bill Ritter (D-CO) retired after one term but I don't know why.

[President Johnson]

Some more than come to my mind spontaneously:

- George Ryan of Illinois, 1999-2003. I think he had some ethical issues and later went in prison.

- Jesse Ventura of Minnesota, 1999-2003. Didn't seek reelection and cited "too much interest by the media in his private life" or something like that.

- Judy Martz of Montana, 2001-2005. Didn't run again due to low approvals.

- David Paterson of New York served less than a full term, from 2008 to 2010. Attempted to run in 2010, but was forced out by Democratic officials and the Obama White House.

- Same with Mark Parkinson of Kansas, 2009-2011. Succeeded Kathleen Sebelius in 2009 and didn't run in 2010 (probably would have been DOA).

Bill Ritter (D-CO) retired after one term but I don't know why.

Thought about him as well. He cited family reasons, according to Wikipedia.

[Calthrina950]

Bill Ritter (D-CO) retired after one term but I don't know why.

Ritter's approval numbers, which were initially high, began to decline in 2008. When he decided not to seek reelection in 2010, he said it was due to family reasons, but (and this is according to Wikipedia), it was believed that Democratic power-brokers in Colorado forced him to drop out of contention. I think Ritter would have won reelection, given that Tom Tancredo mounted his third-party bid that year, and in the actual election, lost to John Hickenlooper by 14%.

[Hope For A New Era]

-Matt Blunt (R-MO) retired in 2008. I think he had some ethical scandals.

Email scandal involving his chief of staff and anti-abortion groups, plus polls were already showing him running behind Jay Nixon even 10 months out.

Missouri seems to like one-term governors. Bob Holden before Blunt was one-term as well, Greitens served less than half a term before resigning, and now Parson has said that if he wins this November he won't run again, so he would be "officially" one-term also.

I guess Nixon was the only governor this century who had both the desire and the scandal-free-ness necessary to get a second term.

[Storr]

- Kathleen Blanco (D-LA) didn't seek re-election in 2007 because her popularity never recovered from Katrina.

- Bev Perdue (D-NC) didn't seek re-election in 2012 due to her sinking approval ratings.

Dangit! You beat me to mentioning Perdue. She tried to pick a fight with the newly Republican legislature post 2010, with a string of vetos including among other things, the state budget. It backfired and made her even more unpopular.

Edit: I just thought about Earl Ray Tomlin, the guy that became Governor of West Virginia after Joe Machin was elected to the Senate in 2010. According to Wikipedia: "Incumbent Democratic Governor Earl Ray Tomblin was barred from running for a second full term. He had ascended to the governorship upon Joe Manchin's election to the Senate in 2010, and was elected to a full term in 2012. Under the West Virginia Constitution, a partial term counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms."

I found that interesting since that differs from how the Presidency works, as a President is allowed to run for two full terms with partial terms not counting toward the number of terms they are allowed to serve (LBJ was able to run for a second full term in 1968, for example). Though, the Governor of West Virginia is one of the weaker executives in the US. The legislature is able to override  vetos with a simple majority, except for budget and supplementary appropriations bills. So partial terms counting to the Governor's two consecutive term limit shouldn't be all that shocking.

[Left Wing]

- Kathleen Blanco (D-LA) didn't seek re-election in 2007 because her popularity never recovered from Katrina.

- Bev Perdue (D-NC) didn't seek re-election in 2012 due to her sinking approval ratings.

I found that interesting since that differs from how the Presidency works, as a President is allowed to run for two full terms with partial terms not counting toward the number of terms they are allowed to serve (LBJ was able to run for a second full term in 1968, for example).

That is not entirely accurate. A partial term does count as a full term in the presidency if it is longer than two years.

[Horsemask]

Here in Maine, James Longley was governor from 1975 to 1979. He had promised not to run for a second term and kept that promise. He also passed away a little more than a year after leaving office.

[Orwell]

-Matt Blunt (R-MO) retired in 2008. I think he had some ethical scandals.

Email scandal involving his chief of staff and anti-abortion groups, plus polls were already showing him running behind Jay Nixon even 10 months out.

Missouri seems to like one-term governors. Bob Holden before Blunt was one-term as well, Greitens served less than half a term before resigning, and now Parson has said that if he wins this November he won't run again, so he would be "officially" one-term also.

I guess Nixon was the only governor this century who had both the desire and the scandal-free-ness necessary to get a second term.

Who was the last Missouri Governor to finish 2 terms? Carnahan sadly was lost a few months before his term finished and even then may have become a Senator. Ashcroft left for the Senate before he could finish the term by 8 days. Kit Bond served 2 non-consecutive terms as Governor. Teasdale only served one term.  

[Left Wing]

-Matt Blunt (R-MO) retired in 2008. I think he had some ethical scandals.

Email scandal involving his chief of staff and anti-abortion groups, plus polls were already showing him running behind Jay Nixon even 10 months out.

Missouri seems to like one-term governors. Bob Holden before Blunt was one-term as well, Greitens served less than half a term before resigning, and now Parson has said that if he wins this November he won't run again, so he would be "officially" one-term also.

I guess Nixon was the only governor this century who had both the desire and the scandal-free-ness necessary to get a second term.

Who was the last Missouri Governor to finish 2 terms?

Nixon, and Ashcroft before him.