List of current United States lieutenant governors
The following is a complete, and current list of lieutenant governors of the 50 U.S. States, and its Territories. Currently, 25 states elect a lieutenant governor on a ticket with the governor, while 18 states elect a lieutenant governor separately. In West Virginia, the President of the Senate, as elected by the senators, serves as lieutenant governor. In Tennessee, the senators elect a Speaker of the Senate, who in turn serves as lieutenant governor. Five states do not have a lieutenant governor. There are currently 36 Republicans and 14 Democrats serving as lieutenant governor or serving as the first in the line of succession.
List of lieutenant governors by state
In the table below, Term ends indicates the year the current lieutenant governor will leave office, or the year of the next election, whichever is first; a notation (term limits) after the year indicates that the current lieutenant governor is ineligible to seek re-election in that year. A notation of (Retiring) after the year indicates that the current lieutenant governor is leaving office that year, having not sought re-election. A notation of (Defeated) indicates that the current lieutenant governor was defeated for re-election.
List of lieutenant governors by territory
Territory | Picture | Lieutenant governor | Party | Took office | Seat up | Chosen by[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Samoa (List) |
Mauga, Lemanu PeletiLemanu Peleti Mauga | Democratic | January 3, 2013 | 2017 | Same ticket | |
Guam (List) |
Tenorio, RayRay Tenorio | Republican | January 3, 2011 | 2019 | Same ticket | |
Northern Mariana Islands (List) |
Hocog, VictorVictor Hocog | Republican | December 29, 2015 | 2019 | Same ticket | |
United States Virgin Islands (List) |
Potter, OsbertOsbert Potter | Independent | January 5, 2015 | 2019 | Same ticket |
States which do not have lieutenant governors
Five states do not have a position of lieutenant governor. In these cases, the Secretary of State or the President of the Senate is next in line for the governorship. In Oregon, there is no lieutenant governor and the Secretary of State's office is currently held by an appointed, rather than an elected, officeholder. Because of this, the State Treasurer is next in line for the governorship and will remain so until the next elected Secretary of State takes office.
State | Picture | Officeholder | Party | Took position | Office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arizona (List) |
Reagan, MicheleMichele Reagan | Republican | January 5, 2015 | Secretary of State | |
Maine (List) |
Thibodeau, MichaelMichael Thibodeau | Republican | December 3, 2014 | President of the Senate | |
New Hampshire (List) |
Morse, ChuckChuck Morse | Republican | September 3, 2013 | President of the Senate | |
Oregon (List) |
Wheeler, TedTed Wheeler | Democratic | February 18, 2015 [6] | State Treasurer | |
Wyoming (List) |
Murray, EdEd Murray | Republican | January 5, 2015 | Secretary of State |
Territories which do not have lieutenant governors
One territory, Puerto Rico, places the Secretary of State next in line for the governorship. In the District of Columbia, the Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia is first in line of succession in the event of a vacancy in the office of Mayor of the District of Columbia.
Territory | Picture | Officeholder | Party | Took position | Office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
District of Columbia (List) |
Mendelson, PhilPhil Mendelson[7] | Democratic | June 13, 2012 | Chairman of the Council | |
Puerto Rico (List) |
Suárez Meléndez, VíctorVíctor Suárez Meléndez | Popular Democratic | December 9, 2015 | Secretary of State |
List of current lieutenant governors-elect
The following is a list of lieutenant governors (and other officials first in line of succession to their respective governorships) elected on November 8, 2016, and who will be taking office between December 2016 and January 2017.
State | Picture | Officeholder | Party | Taking office |
---|---|---|---|---|
Delaware | Hall-Long, BethanyBethany Hall-Long | Democratic | January 17, 2017 | |
Indiana | Crouch, SuzanneSuzanne Crouch | Republican | January 9, 2017 | |
Missouri | Parson, MikeMike Parson | Republican | January 9, 2017 | |
North Dakota | Sanford, BrentBrent Sanford | Republican | December 15, 2016 | |
Oregon | Richardson, DennisDennis Richardson Secretary of State |
Republican | January 2017 | |
Puerto Rico | TBD Secretary of State |
New Progressive | January 2, 2017 | |
Vermont | Zuckerman, DavidDavid Zuckerman | Progressive/Democratic | January 7, 2017 | |
Washington | Habib, CyrusCyrus Habib | Democratic | January 10, 2017 | |
West Virginia | Carmichael, MitchMitch Carmichael President of the Senate |
Republican | January 16, 2017 |
States and territories with differing party membership at the executive level
In most states or territories, the governor and lieutenant governor are members of the same political party. As with the Vice President of the United States, many states' lieutenant governors are elected on the same ticket as the governor, many others are elected on their own. The following states are those in which the designated successor to the governorship is of a different political party.
State/Territory | Governor | Designated successor |
---|---|---|
Alaska | Independent | Democratic |
Louisiana | Democratic | Republican |
Missouri | Democratic | Republican |
New Hampshire | Democratic | Republican |
Vermont | Democratic | Republican |
West Virginia | Democratic | Republican |
See also
- List of current United States first spouses
- List of current United States governors
- List of female lieutenant governors in the United States
References
- 1 2 "Executive Branch of the Several States". Thegreenpapers.com. Retrieved 2012-03-31.
- ↑ Tsutsui was appointed by Governor Neil Abercrombie to replace Brian Schatz, who was appointed U.S. Senator following the death of Daniel Inouye.
- ↑ Little was appointed by Governor Butch Otter, sworn into the office on January 6, 2009 and later approved by the Idaho Senate on January 12, upon the resignation of Jim Risch. He was subsequently elected to a full term in 2010.
- ↑ The Tennessee Senate elects their Speaker who serves as Lieutenant Governor. The full title of the office is Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate.
- ↑ West Virginia Code 6A-1-4(b), as enacted in 2000, entitles the president of the West Virginia Senate to use the title lieutenant governor
- ↑ The designated successor to the Governor of Oregon is normally the Secretary of State followed by the State Treasurer. Wheeler became the next in the line of succession when Secretary of State Kate Brown ascended to the governorship on the February 18, 2015 resignation of Gov. John Kitzhaber. As Brown's successor as Secretary of State, Jeanne Atkins, was appointed rather than elected, Wheeler will remain first in the line of succession until the Secretary of State-elect Dennis Richardson takes office in January 2017.
- ↑ Mendelson was initially appointed Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia after the position was vacated on June 6, 2012, due to the resignation of Kwame R. Brown. Brown had been charged in federal court with bank fraud and, after his resignation, was further charged in D.C. Superior Court with making an unlawful cash campaign expenditure. Mendelson was subsequently elected to complete Brown's term on November 6, 2013.