List of current United States lieutenant governors
This is a complete and current List of United States Lieutenant Governors. There are currently 21 Democrats and 22 Republicans serving as lieutenant governors in the United States. Currently, 23 states elect a lieutenant governor on a ticket with the governor. Nineteen states hold a separate election, and in one state (Tennessee) the state Senate chooses. Seven states have no lieutenant governor, though New Jersey will elect one for the first time in 2009.
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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 dagger (†) after the year indicates that the current lieutenant governor is ineligible to seek re-election in that year due to term limits.
| Picture | Lieutenant Governor | State | Party | Elected/ Took office |
Term ends |
Chosen by[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Ipulasi Aitofele Sunia | American Samoa | Democrat | 2003 | 2012 | Same ticket |
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Michael W. Cruz | Guam | Republican | 2007 | 2010 | Same ticket |
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Timothy P. Villagomez | Northern Mariana Islands | Republican | 2006 | 2009 | Same ticket |
| Gregory Francis | United States Virgin Islands | Democrat | 2007 | 2010 | Same ticket |
Some states and territories do not have lieutenant governors. Instead, the Secretary of State or Senate President of that state are second in line for the Governorship. Those states and territories are:
| Picture | Currently second in line | State | Party | Elected/ took office |
Seat Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secretary of State Jan Brewer | Arizona | Republican | 2002 | 2010 | |
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Senate President Beth Edmonds | Maine | Democrat | 2004 | 2008 |
| Senate President Sylvia Larsen | New Hampshire | Democrat | 2006 | 2008 | |
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Senate President Richard Codey | New Jersey | Democrat | 2003 | 2009 |
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Secretary of State Bill Bradbury | Oregon | Democrat | 2000 | 2008 |
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Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock | Puerto Rico | Democrat | 2009 | incumbent |
| Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin | West Virginia | Democrat | 1995 | 2008 | |
| Secretary of State Max Maxfield | Wyoming | Republican | 2006 | 2010 |
A measure passed in New Jersey in 2005 that instituted a lieutenant governorship; the first lieutenant governor of New Jersey will be elected in 2009.
In most states, 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 (or the position is vacant).
| State | Governor | Designated successor |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Republican | Democrat |
| Arizona | Democrat | Republican |
| California | Republican | Democrat |
| Louisiana | Republican | Democrat |
| Montana | Democrat | Republican |
| New York | Democrat | Republican |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Covenant | Republican |
| Pennsylvania | Democrat | Republican |
| Rhode Island | Republican | Democrat |
| Tennessee | Democrat | Republican |
| Virginia | Democrat | Republican |
| Wyoming | Democrat | Republican |
- ^ Executive Branch of the Several States
- ^ Although in practice the candidate for Lieutenant Governor is nominated as a ticket with the candidate for Governor, the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor are voted on separately in Delaware. In 1972 and 1984, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor were elected from different parties.
- ^ http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2006&fips=25&off=5&f=0
- ^ Montana's John Bohlinger is a Republican elected on the same ticket as a Democratic governor.
- ^ The Lieutenant Governorship in New York is currently vacent due to the elevation of David Paterson to the Governorship after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer. The New York State Constitution states that the "Temporary President of the Senate" will fulfill the duties of Lieutenant Governor when the office is vacent. That position is currently held by Dean G. Skelos.
- ^ Tennessee's state Senate elects the Lieutenant Governor from its membership. The full title of the office is Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate.
- ^ Executive Branch of the Several States
