Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia
Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia
Incumbent Winsome Earle-Sears since January 15, 2022
Style	The Honorable
Term length	Four years, no term limits
Inaugural holder	Shelton Leake
Formation	1852
Website	www.ltgov.virginia.gov/

The Lieutenant Governor of Virginia is an important leader in the state of Virginia. This person is chosen by voters every four years, at the same time as the Governor and the Attorney General.

Currently, Winsome Earle Sears holds this position. She was elected in 2021. She is the first woman and the second person of color to serve as Lieutenant Governor in Virginia. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected separately, so they might belong to different political parties.

The Lieutenant Governor has several key roles. They lead the Senate of Virginia meetings and are next in line to become Governor. This means if the Governor leaves office for any reason, the Lieutenant Governor steps in. In Virginia, a Governor cannot serve two terms in a row, but the Lieutenant Governor can, and there's no limit to how many terms they can serve.

What is the Lieutenant Governor's Role?
List of Virginia's Lieutenant Governors
Timeline of Lieutenant Governors
See also

What is the Lieutenant Governor's Role?

The Lieutenant Governor of Virginia is a special leader who helps run the state government. They are chosen by the people of Virginia in an election.

History of the Office

The idea of a Lieutenant Governor in Virginia goes way back to the 1630s. At that time, the British King or Queen would appoint helpers for the governors of the Colony of Virginia. These helpers were part of a group called the Governor's Council. One person in this group was chosen as the governor's deputy, or lieutenant governor. This person would take over if the governor was away.

After the American Revolution, the Virginia Constitution of 1776 changed things, and the council was removed.

The modern office of Lieutenant Governor was created by the Virginia Constitution of 1851. This new constitution said that the people would vote for the Lieutenant Governor. It also made the Lieutenant Governor the leader of the Virginia Senate. Before this, the Senate chose its own leader.

During the American Civil War, Virginia had two different governments, so there were different Lieutenant Governors. After the war, from 1865 to 1870, military generals appointed the Lieutenant Governors. In 1870, Virginia rejoined the United States, and since then, the people have voted for their Lieutenant Governor. A new constitution in 1870 gave the Lieutenant Governor the power to break ties in Senate votes.

Virginia has had important "firsts" in this office. Douglas Wilder became Virginia's first black Lieutenant Governor in 1986. Winsome Sears, who took office on January 15, 2022, is the first woman to hold the position.

How the Lieutenant Governor is Elected

The Lieutenant Governor is one of three top leaders in Virginia chosen by voters. The other two are the Governor and the Attorney General. People vote for the Lieutenant Governor separately from the Governor. This means they don't have to be from the same political team. There are no limits on how many terms a Lieutenant Governor can serve. If the person elected as Governor cannot take office, the Lieutenant Governor-elect becomes Governor instead.

Powers and Duties

The Constitution of Virginia says that the Lieutenant Governor leads the Senate. If the Lieutenant Governor is not there, another leader called the president pro tempore takes over. The Lieutenant Governor can only vote in the Senate if there's a tie. This power usually applies to most laws. However, there have been discussions about whether this tie-breaking power applies to big decisions like changing the constitution or approving people the Governor wants to appoint. These questions have not been fully decided in court.

The constitution also states that if the Governor's office becomes empty because of death, resignation, or other reasons, the Lieutenant Governor takes over as Governor. State laws also allow the Lieutenant Governor to serve on various state groups and committees. The Virginia General Assembly can remove the Lieutenant Governor from office if they do something wrong.

The Lieutenant Governor's office is in the Oliver Hill Building in Richmond, Virginia. Their pay is decided by law and cannot be changed during their term. As of 2021, the yearly salary was $36,321. Since this is a part-time job, most Lieutenant Governors have other jobs unless they are already wealthy or retired.

List of Virginia's Lieutenant Governors

Here is a list of the people who have served as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia since the modern office was created.

Parties

Conservative (1 lieutenant governor) Democrat (31 lieutenant governors) Independent (1 lieutenant governor) Republican (7 lieutenant governors) Union (2 lieutenant governors)

#	Name	Party	Term	Governor	Notes
1	Shelton Leake	Democratic	1852–1856	Joseph Johnson
2	Elisha W. McComas	Democratic	1856–1857	Henry A. Wise
3	William Lowther Jackson	Democratic	1857–1860	Henry A. Wise
4	Robert Latane Montague	Democratic	1860–1864	John Letcher	Richmond (Confederate) Government
5	Samuel Price	Democratic	1864–1865	William Smith	Richmond (Confederate) Government
6	Daniel Polsley	Union	1861–1863	John Letcher	Restored (Unionist) Government
7	Leopold Copeland Parker Cowper	Union	1863–1865	John Letcher	Restored (Unionist) Government
8	Leopold Copeland Parker Cowper	Union	1865–1869	William Smith Francis Harrison Pierpont Henry H. Wells Gilbert Carlton Walker
9	John F. Lewis	Republican	1869–1870	Gilbert Carlton Walker
10	John Lawrence Marye, Jr.	Conservative	1870–1874	Gilbert Carlton Walker
11	Robert E. Withers	Democratic	1874–1875	James L. Kemper
12	Henry Wirtz Thomas	Republican	1875–1878	James L. Kemper
13	James A. Walker	Democratic	1878–1882	Frederick W. M. Holliday
14	John F. Lewis	Republican	1882–1886	William E. Cameron
15	John E. Massey	Democratic	1886–1890	Fitzhugh Lee
16	James Hoge Tyler	Democratic	1890–1894	Philip W. McKinney
17	Robert Craig Kent	Democratic	1894–1898	Charles Triplett O'Ferrall
18	Edward Echols	Democratic	1898–1902	James H. Tyler
19	Joseph Edward Willard	Democratic	1902–1906	Andrew J. Montague
20	James Taylor Ellyson	Democratic	1906–1918	Claude A. Swanson William Hodges Mann Henry Carter Stuart
21	Benjamin Franklin Buchanan	Democratic	1918–1922	Westmoreland Davis
22	Junius Edgar West	Democratic	1922–1930	Elbert L. Trinkle Harry F. Byrd
23	James H. Price	Democratic	1930–1938	John Garland Pollard George C. Peery
24	Saxon Winston Holt	Democratic	1938–1940	James H. Price	died in office
25	William M. Tuck	Democratic	1942–1946	Colgate Darden
26	Lewis Preston Collins II	Democratic	1946–1952	William M. Tuck	died in office
27	Allie Edward Stokes Stephens	Democratic	1952–1962	John S. Battle	filled Collins's term
28	Mills E. Godwin, Jr.	Democratic	1962–1966	Albertis Harrison
29	Fred G. Pollard	Democratic	1966–1970	Mills Godwin
30	J. Sargeant Reynolds	Democratic	1970–1971	Linwood Holton	died in office
31	Henry Howell	Independent	1971–1974	Linwood Holton	Completed Reynolds's term
32	John N. Dalton	Republican	1974–1978	Mills Godwin
33	Chuck Robb	Democratic	1978–1982	John N. Dalton
34	Dick Davis	Democratic	1982–1986	Chuck Robb
35	Douglas Wilder	Democratic	1986–1990	Gerald Baliles
36	Don Beyer	Democratic	1990–1998	Douglas Wilder George Allen
37	John H. Hager	Republican	1998–2002	Jim Gilmore
38	Tim Kaine	Democratic	2002–2006	Mark Warner
39	Bill Bolling	Republican	2006–2014	Tim Kaine Bob McDonnell
40	Ralph Northam	Democratic	2014–2018	Terry McAuliffe
41	Justin Fairfax	Democratic	2018–2022	Ralph Northam
42	Winsome Sears	Republican	2022–present	Glenn Youngkin