Top 10 Worst United States Governors in 2020

It seems that a list about the worst governors was made back in 2015. It's now 2020, and with COVID, Antifa, and all sorts of events, we have taken notice not just of the president, the election, and Congress, but also of what the state governors have been doing. For those who live in the United States, the governor is basically the one who enforces much of the state laws and is usually only superseded by the federal government or the courts.

People have taken notice of what certain governors have done this year. Although the year isn't over, the actions of several governors are ones to remember.

The Top Ten

Gavin Newsom (California)

Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman. He has been serving as the 40th governor of California since 2019 as a member of the Democratic Party.

Honestly, the most surprising thing about Newsom is that he narrowly beats out Cuomo for the worst governor, in my opinion. Crazy when you think about it, but I'm sure there are a ton of pissed-off Californians in the most populous state in America who hate the guy.
He's called for the most crazed of mandates, including discouraging singing, only holding gatherings outside, and extreme restaurant guidelines that probably would put many out of business. Honestly, the list goes on and on. Too many restrictions are going to make obeying the law less acceptable than breaking it.
Oh yeah, and there's a recent video of him having dinner at a restaurant with his crew. It's an insult to the restaurant workers and owners that he gets to do things they can't.
Andrew Cuomo (New York)

100%, probably the worst politician of the year as far as I'm concerned. Absolutely disgusted at his handling of this virus and his constant refusal to admit he messed up. Because hey, why do that when you can blame it on Trump and politicize the virus so it increases the chances of Biden winning, right?

I don't want to hear one single person attempt to dispute the fact that he ordered COVID-infected patients into nursing homes. And this guy is apparently getting a raise while much of his state is in debt.
Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan)

Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019.
A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 and in the Michigan Senate from 2006... read more

Honestly, her policies are about on par with the ones above her, and now she wants to lock down the state once again. No Thanksgiving or otherwise. She's just as controversial as others.

So much of a tyrant that the legislature and courts in Michigan had to cut her down to size.
Kate Brown (Oregon)

Hands down, the worst governor in the history of Oregon, and one of the top 5 worst governors in the country. She is pro-pharma, pro-Soros, and she's been instrumental in killing independent businesses as well as downtown Portland. She destroyed the good reputation of Oregon and made it into the laughingstock of the country. We can't get rid of her because of the insane rules for trying to recall an unfit psycho governor. Nobody likes this woman.

Hey Kate, you could have called in the Oregon National Guard to deal with the 100+ days of unrest in Portland to keep the city from being destroyed, right? I mean Ted Wheeler's also guilty of not keeping the peace but still.
Tom Wolf (Pennsylvania)

Add this to the list of governors who apparently and atrociously sent COVID patients to nursing homes, along with Whitmer and Cuomo.
Ralph Northam (Virginia)

Ralph's worst year was 2019, with the whole racism controversy. But in January 2020, he wanted to pass legislation to outlaw the Second Amendment. People protested outside of Richmond, wanting to keep their Second Amendment rights, and they didn't fire a single shot. These are the Virginians against the possible tyranny that could come without Second Amendment rights. Not to mention, his stance on late-term abortions is incredibly controversial.

He should have been driven from office by the 'blackface' scandal.
Jay Inslee (Washington)

This man was a horrible governor. He was so bad I moved to Florida from Seattle.

Same as with Kate Brown but with Seattle.
Tim Walz (Minnesota)

Much like Kate Brown and Jay Inslee, here we have another governor who downplayed the violence in his state and instead passed police reform legislation.
J.B. Pritzker (Illinois)
Brian Kemp (Georgia)

Absolutely ruined Georgia.

The Newcomers

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Phil Scott (Vermont)
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Kevin Stitt (Oklahoma)

All he cares about is cutting taxes and services to the state. He's a businessman who recently dissolved a state agency overseeing homelessness in the state. He's known for blatant cronyism and heavy-handed handling of slashing state programs, as well as being blatantly partisan to the core.

The Contenders

Greg Abbott (Texas)

Closing off my remix of this with Greg Abbott, the Republican governor who's a known RINO and is also anti-LGBT. He had the shortest stay-at-home order compared to every other governor and is strict on socially liberal values.

His mail-in ballot voter suppression tactic was pretty awful.
Mike DeWine (Ohio)

Wow, ninth item on the list and the first Republican governor on this list. There are quite a few reasons why he's here. Like Northam, he's hated by gun lovers, mostly because of the assault weapons ban. He's also against same-sex marriage and legalization of marijuana, as well as being okay with net neutrality.
Kristi Noem (South Dakota)

Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem, born on November 30, 1971, is an American politician. She was the eighth United States Secretary of Homeland Security from January 2025 to 2026.
She also faced scrutiny for revealing in a book that she shot her dog because it behaved in a way that she didn't approve of... read more
Ron DeSantis (Florida)

Ron DeSantis (born September 14, 1978) is an American politician and former military officer. He has served as the 46th governor of Florida since January 8, 2019. Prior to that, DeSantis represented Florida's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018, and he is... read more

What a horror. Grandstanding, towing the party line without consideration for the state's welfare, and publicly excoriated young men for wearing protective masks during a pandemic. Hope he drifts into obscure oblivion.

Extremely corrupt and far-right.
Tony Evers (Wisconsin)
Doug Ducey (Arizona)
Charlie Baker (Massachusetts)
David Ige (Hawaii)
Phil Murphy (New Jersey)
Roy Cooper (North Carolina)
Tate Reeves (Mississippi)

No wonder Mississippi is always ranked as the worst state...
Mike Parson (Missouri)
Jared Polis (Colorado)
Andy Beshear (Kentucky)