Lieutenant Governor (United States)

In the United States, 45 of the 50 states have an office of lieutenant governor. In two of the 45 states, the speaker of the upper house of the state legislature serves in such a capacity. In most cases, the lieutenant governor is the highest officer of state after the governor, standing in for that officer when he or she is absent from the state or temporarily incapacitated. In the event a governor dies, resigns or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor typically becomes governor.

In 25 states, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket, ensuring that they come from the same political party. In the remaining 18 states, they are elected separately and, thus, may come from different parties. The lieutenant governor is also frequently the presiding officer of the upper house of the state legislature, similar to the Vice President of the United States. Among the seven states without a separate, full-time office of lieutenant governor, two states have a post of lieutenant governor that is filled by the highest officer of the state Senate. In Tennessee, the full title of the leader of the Senate is "Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate". In West Virginia, the title of Lieutenant Governor is assigned by statute to the Senate President. With the exception of Arkansas, California, Georgia, Idaho, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia, every state has had a female Lieutenant Governor or equivalent - although Mona Pasquil briefly acted as Lieutenant Governor of California between Abel Maldonado and John Garamendi.

In Maine and New Hampshire, the presiding officer of the State Senate assumes the governor's office upon a vacancy. In the remaining three states – Arizona, Oregon, and Wyoming – the Secretary of State becomes governor upon the office's vacancy.

The U.S. commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands have the office of lieutenant governor. In the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, the appointed Secretary of State becomes governor upon the office's vacancy while the Chief of Staff is typically the highest office after the governor.

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