Former Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Win Rockefeller once described his position as the state government's spare tire: kept in the dark, pumped up, and hopefully never used. But when New Jersey cycled through five governors in eight days, or when a governor's presidential ambitions raised questions about who would actually run the state, the structure of the lieutenant governor's office suddenly mattered a great deal.
What Do Lieutenant Governors Do?
In most states, the lieutenant governor's duties are limited. The office may head state commissions, take on special projects, or lead economic development initiatives. In roughly half the states, the lieutenant governor also presides over the state senate and casts a tie-breaking vote when the chamber is evenly split, creating a hybrid role between the executive and legislative branches.
Texas is the major exception. The lieutenant governor in the Lone Star State has enormous legislative control over the state senate: appointing all committee chairs, choosing which committee will hear each bill, and deciding when a bill reaches the floor for a vote. This power is derived not from the Texas Constitution but from the rules of the Texas Senate. While most lieutenant governors struggle to find relevance, the Texas lieutenant governor is quietly one of the most powerful political offices in any state.
The office also serves as a political stepping stone. A number of sitting governors first served as lieutenant governor, and those who succeed to the governorship through a vacancy often run to keep the seat in the next election.
| Governor | State | Party | Governor Since | Path |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Rhoden | SD | R | 2025 | Succeeded (Noem to cabinet) |
| Kathy Hochul | NY | D | 2021 | Succeeded (Cuomo resigned) |
| Dan McKee | RI | D | 2021 | Succeeded (Raimondo to cabinet) |
| Spencer Cox | UT | R | 2021 | Elected |
| Gavin Newsom | CA | D | 2019 | Elected |
| Ralph Northam | VA | D | 2018 | Elected |
| Kay Ivey | AL | R | 2017 | Succeeded (Bentley resigned) |
| Kim Reynolds | IA | R | 2017 | Succeeded (Branstad to ambassador) |
Not Every State Has One
Seven states get by without a separately elected lieutenant governor. Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Wyoming simply don't have the position at all. When a vacancy occurs, the next official in the line of succession steps in: the senate president in Maine and New Hampshire, or the secretary of state in Oregon and Wyoming. Tennessee and West Virginia take a similar approach but add a ceremonial twist, granting their senate presidents the title of "lieutenant governor."
This approach saves public dollars and avoids the problem of funding a largely ceremonial office. But it carries risks.
New Jersey: Five Governors in Eight Days
In 2001, New Jersey had no lieutenant governor. When Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R) resigned to serve as EPA Administrator under President George W. Bush, Senate President Donald DiFrancesco (R) became acting governor, as the state constitution required. But DiFrancesco chose not to seek a full term, and the January 2002 transition to a new governor exposed a constitutional gap: with the senate presidency changing hands and competing claims to authority, New Jersey cycled through five acting governors in the span of eight days. The crisis led voters to approve a constitutional amendment in 2005 creating a new lieutenant governor's office, ensuring the state would never face that kind of confusion again.
More recently, Arizona went in the same direction. Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2022 creating a brand-new lieutenant governor's office. Arizona will elect its first lieutenant governor in 2026, bringing the total number of states with the office to 46.
Joint Ticket vs. Separate Election
Of the 43 states that elect a lieutenant governor, the method of selection varies. In 26 states, the governor and lieutenant governor run on a joint ticket, similar to how a presidential ticket works, ensuring that both offices are held by the same party. The remaining 17 states elect their lieutenant governor independently, which can lead to a governor and lieutenant governor from opposing parties.
Why It Matters
Independent election creates the possibility of divided executive leadership. From 2021 through January 2025, North Carolina's Gov. Roy Cooper (D) served alongside Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R). Robinson used the platform to publicly oppose Cooper's policies on education and COVID-19 restrictions, creating a visible split between the state's two highest executive offices.
Even when the governor and lieutenant governor share a party, independent election can produce conflict.
Idaho: When the Governor Leaves Town
Under Idaho law, the lieutenant governor assumes gubernatorial authority whenever the governor is physically absent from the state. In October 2021, Gov. Brad Little (R) left Idaho to visit the U.S.-Mexico border with other governors. Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin (R) used the opportunity to issue her own executive order banning COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandates for state agencies and public schools. Little's office responded within minutes, calling it political grandstanding. He reversed the order before he even returned to Idaho. It was the second time McGeachin had pulled the same move: months earlier, while Little was at a Republican conference in Tennessee, she issued an order banning mask mandates in schools, which Little also reversed upon his return. The episodes sparked a debate over when exactly a governor is "absent" enough to trigger a temporary transfer of power.
Four Types of Joint Tickets
Even among joint-ticket states, the specific mechanism for how the lieutenant governor candidate is chosen varies considerably:
| Method | How It Works | States |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Primary Slate | Governor candidate selects running mate before the primary; they run as a ticket through both the primary and general election | AK, AZ*, CO, FL, KS, KY, MA, MD, MT, NE, NJ, NY**, OH, PA***, UT |
| Post-Primary Selection | Governor nominee selects running mate after winning the primary; they run together only in the general election | IL, MN, ND |
| Convention Delegate Selection | Party delegates at a state convention choose the lieutenant governor nominee, who then runs on a joint ticket with the governor in the general election | IA, IN, MI, SD |
| Separate Primaries, Joint General | Governor and Lt. Governor candidates run independently in the primary; the winners of each are then paired together as a joint ticket in the general election | CT, HI, WI |
* Arizona's first joint-ticket election will be in 2026. ** New York switched from separate primaries to pre-primary slate in 2025. *** Pennsylvania switched from separate primaries to pre-primary slate in 2022.
The distinction matters in practice. Pre-primary slates give the gubernatorial candidate the most control over who serves as their lieutenant governor, since the running mate is chosen before voters weigh in. Separate primaries can produce mismatched tickets where the governor and lieutenant governor have different political agendas or constituencies, even within the same party. Post-primary selection falls in between, giving the nominee a free hand after winning the primary but before the general election.
Convention delegate selection is the most unusual method and the one most prone to producing tension between the governor and lieutenant governor. Because delegates — rather than the gubernatorial nominee or primary voters — choose the running mate, the governor candidate has no guarantee of getting a like-minded partner.
Indiana: Convention Delegates vs. the Governor
Indiana demonstrated the risks of convention selection in 2024, when Republican delegates chose Micah Beckwith (R) as the lieutenant governor nominee over Gov.-elect Mike Braun's (R) preferred running mate. Beckwith, a political newcomer and self-described Christian nationalist, quickly became a source of friction. He publicly contradicted Braun on policy, was investigated by a grand jury over staff misconduct allegations, and was formally reprimanded by the State Senate for using AI-enabled recording glasses during private legislative meetings. In 2026, Indiana lawmakers introduced House Bill 1022, which would replace the convention process with a system where the governor nominee picks their own running mate — the same model used in 15 other joint-ticket states.
New York: From Separate Primaries to a Joint Ticket
New York illustrates why selection method matters. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) succeeded to the governorship after Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) resigned in 2021. She won a full term in 2022, but her first lieutenant governor, Brian Benjamin (D), resigned following a federal indictment. Under New York's old system, the governor and lieutenant governor were nominated in separate primaries, meaning they had no obligation to run as a team or share a political agenda. In 2025, the legislature included a reform in the state budget that changed the system: starting in 2026, governor candidates will select a running mate before the primary, bringing New York in line with the 25 other joint-ticket states.
There is a movement overall to consolidate these selection methods — states tend to move toward giving the gubernatorial candidate more control over their running mate, not less. It often takes a scandal or open conflict between a governor and lieutenant governor to push a state to change its process, as the New York and Indiana examples illustrate.
Gubernatorial Succession
The lieutenant governor's most consequential role is one that most hope never to use: stepping in when the governor leaves office. But succession scenarios arise more often than you might expect, and the structure of the office shapes how smoothly the transition goes.
The 2024 presidential race put this in sharp relief. When Vice President Harris was selecting a running mate, several sitting governors were on her shortlist. If North Carolina's Gov. Cooper (D) had been chosen, it would have placed Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R), from the opposing party, in charge whenever Cooper campaigned outside the state. Harris ultimately chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (DFL), whose lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan (DFL), had been elected alongside him on a joint ticket. Had Harris won the presidency, the governorship would have passed smoothly to Flanagan. The contrast with the Cooper scenario was stark: joint-ticket states provide a clear, same-party successor, while independently elected states risk handing the governorship to the opposing party.
Succession happens for many reasons beyond elections. When President-elect Trump nominated South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) as Secretary of Homeland Security in late 2024, Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden (R) became governor to complete her term. Because Rhoden had run on a joint ticket with Noem in 2022, the transition was orderly and kept the office in the same party.
Delaware saw an unusual transition in early 2025. Term-limited Gov. John Carney (D) won election as Mayor of Wilmington, but his new term as mayor began on January 7, two weeks before Governor-elect Matt Meyer (D) would be sworn in. Carney had to resign early, and Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long (D) became Delaware's 75th governor for that brief gap, despite having lost her own bid to succeed Carney in the gubernatorial primary. It was actually the third time since 1960 that a Delaware lieutenant governor stepped in because the outgoing governor left early for another office, following David Buckson in 1960, Dale Wolf in 1992, and Ruth Ann Minner in 2001.
The 2026 Elections
In 2026, voters in 31 states will elect lieutenant governors alongside the 36 gubernatorial races on the ballot. This is one more than usual: Arizona will elect its first lieutenant governor after voters approved the 2022 constitutional amendment establishing the office.
Among the states with independently elected lieutenant governors, watch for races where the governor's race and lieutenant governor's race could produce a split outcome. In states with open-seat gubernatorial races, the lieutenant governor contest can also become a launching pad for the next generation of statewide candidates.
The lieutenant governor's office may lack the prestige of the governorship, but how a state selects its lieutenant governor shapes everything from day-to-day governance to the stability of leadership transitions. As the examples above show, the structure of the office matters most in the moments when it's tested.