AP Style Governor

Here is the general guideline when writing out the title of governor in AP Style.

Governor is capitalized and abbreviated as Gov. (singular) or Govs. (plural) when it is used as a formal title before an individual’s name. In AP Style, governor is always abbreviated and capitalized when it is part of a formal title–even inside quotations.

Gov. Perry
Gov. Brown
Govs. Perry and Brown
“I told Gov. Rauner that property taxes were hurting the middle class,” said one of the town hall attendees.

When it’s not being used as the formal title, governor is not capitalized and not abbreviated.

In discussions today, the governor pressed for tax cuts for working families.
“The governor needs to listen to the people,” said Mary Smith.