The
Lieutenant Governor of Florida is a statewide elected office in the
governmentThe government of Florida is a constitutional republic with three branches of government, including the executive branch consisting of the Governor of Florida and the other elected and appointed constitutional officers; the legislative branch, the Florida Legislature, consisting of the Senate and...
of the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. According to the
Florida ConstitutionThe Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state....
, the lieutenant governor is elected to a four-year term congruent with that of the Governor of Florida, and succeeds to the office of Governor if it becomes vacant. The current Lieutenant Governor of Florida is
Jennifer CarrollJennifer Carroll is a Trinidadian-born American politician who is the 18th and current Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. state of Florida. The first African American and the first woman elected to the position, she assumed the office on January 4, 2011...
, who took office on January 4, 2011.
Description and duties
The lieutenant governor is currently the second-ranking member of the
executive branchExecutive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
of the state
Government of FloridaThe government of Florida is a constitutional republic with three branches of government, including the executive branch consisting of the Governor of Florida and the other elected and appointed constitutional officers; the legislative branch, the Florida Legislature, consisting of the Senate and...
. The lieutenant governor succeeds to the office of governor if the office becomes vacant, and may also serve as acting governor of the governor is incapacitated or absent from the state.
In the modern setup the lieutenant governor is elected on the same party ticket as the gubernatorial candidate. Although gubernatorial candidates are not required to have a running mate for the party
primary electionA primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
s, the state constitution requires a "joint candidacy" for the
general electionIn a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
. Statewide elections for governor, lieutenant governor and the state cabinet take place every four years.
Once elected, the lieutenant governor is first in the line of succession, serving upon vacancy in the office of governor. The position of Lieutenant Governor of Florida was restored with the 1968 revision of the
Florida state constitutionThe Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state....
(See Article IV, Section 2). Prior to 1968, the president of the
state senateThe Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Senate is composed of 40 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 470,032....
was first in the line of succession. According to the state constitution, the conditions for succession include
impeachmentImpeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
or incapacity of the sitting governor. Incapacity is determined by
state supreme courtThe Supreme Court of the State of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. The Supreme Court consists of seven judges: the Chief Justice and six Justices who are appointed by the Governor to 6-year terms and remain in office if retained in a general election near the end of each...
after recommendation by three cabinet members or otherwise certified by the governor with the state custodian of records (the
Secretary of State of FloridaThe Secretary of State of Florida is a constitutional officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established by the original 1838 state constitution....
). The Lieutenant Governor can be
impeachedImpeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
for committing a "misdemeanor in office" by the State Legislature, and convicted and thereby removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the State Senate. Two lieutenant governors have assumed the office of Governor since 1968.
Wayne MixsonJohn Wayne Mixson, better known as Wayne Mixson was the 39th Governor of the U.S. state of Florida. He assumed the office in January 1987 after Bob Graham stepped down to take his seat in the United States Senate, and served only three days until the governor-elect, Bob Martinez, was sworn in...
become governor briefly when
Bob GrahamDaniel Robert "Bob" Graham is an American politician. He was the 38th Governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senator from that state from 1987 to 2005...
resigned to assume his elected seat in the U.S. Senate.
Buddy MacKayKenneth Hood "Buddy" MacKay, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat from Florida. A Democrat, he was briefly the 42nd Governor of Florida following the death of Lawton Chiles on December 12, 1998. During his long public service career he was also state legislator, U.S. Representative, Lt...
completed the unfinished term of outgoing Governor
Lawton ChilesLawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. was an American politician from the US state of Florida. In a career spanning four decades, Chiles, a Democrat who never lost an election, served in the Florida House of Representatives , the Florida State Senate , the United States Senate , and as the 41st Governor of...
after the late governor died in office.
History
The position of
Lieutenant GovernorA lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
has been used in
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
's government twice in the state's history. The first period spanned from 1865, after the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, through 1889. During this time, the lieutenant governor was elected independently of the Governor. In addition to being first in succession to the governor, the lieutenant governor was the
ex officio president of the
Florida SenateThe Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Senate is composed of 40 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 470,032....
, and cast a vote in the case of a tie.
William W. J. KellyWilliam Washington Jones Kelly was the first Lieutenant Governor of Florida.Kelly was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, to Hanson Kelly and Susan Clark Kelly, an entrepreneurial merchant. The Kelly family moved to Pensacola about 1830...
was the first person elected Lieutenant Governor after the position was created by the 1865 Constitution of Florida. The position was officially abolished by the post-Reconstruction Constitution of 1885, with the last Lieutenant Governor,
Milton H. MabryMilton Harvey Mabry was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. He served as both Lieutenant Governor of Florida and Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court....
, serving out his term until 1889. After this point the office of
President of the SenateThe President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate, and is the speaker of other assemblies.The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for example, the President of the Senate of Nigeria is second in line...
was given to an elected member of the Senate, who also served as first in line of succession to the Governor.
The state constitution was again revised in 1968, and the office of Lieutenant Governor was recreated. In the modern period, the Lieutenant Governor is elected directly along with the Governor as his or her
running mateA running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
. The Lieutenant Governor would serve as first in the line of succession, though the office of
President of the SenateThe President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate, and is the speaker of other assemblies.The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for example, the President of the Senate of Nigeria is second in line...
would remain with an elected Senator. The Lieutenant governor has a few prescribed duties, and otherwise assists the Governor with the duties of the executive branch. The first Lieutenant Governor in the modern period was
Ray C. OsborneRay C. Osborne was a Florida Republican Party politician who served as the first Lieutenant Governor of Florida under the state constitution of 1968 and the state's first lieutenant governor since 1889. Appointed by Republican Governor Claude R...
, who took office in 1969. The current Lieutenant Governor, and the 18th person to hold the position, is
Jennifer CarrollJennifer Carroll is a Trinidadian-born American politician who is the 18th and current Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. state of Florida. The first African American and the first woman elected to the position, she assumed the office on January 4, 2011...
.
List of Lieutenant Governors
| # | Name | Took Office | Left Office | Party | Governor(s) Served With | Note |
| 1 |
William W. J. KellyWilliam Washington Jones Kelly was the first Lieutenant Governor of Florida.Kelly was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, to Hanson Kelly and Susan Clark Kelly, an entrepreneurial merchant. The Kelly family moved to Pensacola about 1830...
|
1865 |
1868 |
Republican |
David S. WalkerDavid Shelby Walker was the eighth Governor of Florida.Walker was born near Russelville in Logan County, Kentucky. He attended private schools in Kentucky and Tennessee and studied law. He moved to Florida in 1837, settling in Leon County...
|
|
| 2 |
William Henry GleasonWilliam Henry Gleason was an American politician from Florida. He was Florida's second Lieutenant Governor and was very briefly, acting Governor.-Early life:...
|
1868 |
1870 |
Republican |
Harrison Reed |
|
| 3 |
Edmund C. WeeksEdmund Cottle Weeks was an American politician who served as the third Lieutenant Governor of Florida.-Early life:...
|
1870 |
1870 |
Republican |
|
| 4 |
Samuel T. Day Samuel T. Day was an American physician, plantation owner, and politician who served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Florida, from January 3, 1871, to June 3, 1872....
|
1871 |
1873 |
Republican |
|
| 5 |
Marcellus StearnsMarcellus Lovejoy Stearns was an American politician. He served as the 11th Governor of Florida, from 1874 to 1877.Born in Lovell, Maine on April 29, 1839, he attended Colby College and in 1861 left to join the Union Army. He lost an arm during the war, after which he was sent by the army to...
|
1873 |
1874 |
Republican |
Ossian B. HartOssian Bingley Hart was the tenth Governor of the U.S. state of Florida, and the first governor of Florida who was born in the state. Born in Jacksonville to Isaiah Hart, one of the city's founders, he was raised on his father's plantation along the St. Johns River. He was lawyer in Jacksonville....
|
|
| 6 |
Noble A. Hull Noble Andrew Hull was a U.S. Representative from Florida and the sixth Lieutenant Governor of Florida.-Early life:...
|
1877 |
1879 |
Democrat |
George Franklin Drew George Franklin Drew was the 12th Governor of the U.S. state of Florida.Born in Alton, New Hampshire, he moved to the south, opening a machine shop in Columbus, Georgia in 1847. In 1865, he opened the largest sawmill in Florida in Ellaville...
|
|
| 7 |
Livingston W. Bethel Livingstone Wellesley Bethel was an American lawyer, judge, politician, and Lieutenant Governor of Florida 1881-4....
|
1881 |
1885 |
|
William D. BloxhamWilliam Dunnington Bloxham was an American politician. He served as the 13th and 17th Governor of Florida in two non-consecutive terms. Prior to his first term as governor, he served in the Florida House of Representatives....
|
|
| 8 |
Milton H. Mabry Milton Harvey Mabry was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. He served as both Lieutenant Governor of Florida and Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court....
|
1885 |
1889 |
|
Edward A. PerryEdward Aylesworth Perry was a general under Robert E. Lee during the American Civil War and the 14th Governor of Florida.-Early life:He was a descendant of Arthur Perry, one of the earliest settlers of New England...
|
Position Abolished |
| 9 |
Ray C. Osborne Ray C. Osborne was a Florida Republican Party politician who served as the first Lieutenant Governor of Florida under the state constitution of 1968 and the state's first lieutenant governor since 1889. Appointed by Republican Governor Claude R...
|
1969 |
1971 |
Republican |
Claude R. Kirk, Jr.Claude Roy Kirk, Jr. was the 36th Governor of the U.S. state of Florida . He was the first Republican Governor of Florida since Reconstruction.-Early life:...
|
Position Recreated |
| 10 |
Thomas Burton Adams, Jr. Thomas Burton "Tom" Adams, Jr. was an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. A Democrat, he served in the Florida Senate , as Secretary of State of Florida , and as the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Florida .-Early life:Adams was born in Jacksonville, Florida to Thomas Burton Adams,...
|
1971 |
1975 |
Democrat |
Reubin O'Donovan Askew Reubin O'Donovan Askew is an American politician, who served as the 37th Governor of the U.S. state of Florida from 1971 to 1979.-Early life and career:...
|
|
| 11 |
J.H. WilliamsJames Hunter Williams, aka Jim Williams or J.H. Williams is a retired American politician, member of the Democratic Party. Williams is best known for serving as the 11th Lieutenant Governor of Florida from 1975 to 1979. He was the second Lt. Governor under Governor Reubin O'Donovan Askew...
|
1975 |
1979 |
Democrat |
|
| 12 |
Wayne MixsonJohn Wayne Mixson, better known as Wayne Mixson was the 39th Governor of the U.S. state of Florida. He assumed the office in January 1987 after Bob Graham stepped down to take his seat in the United States Senate, and served only three days until the governor-elect, Bob Martinez, was sworn in...
|
1979 |
1987 |
Democrat |
Bob GrahamDaniel Robert "Bob" Graham is an American politician. He was the 38th Governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senator from that state from 1987 to 2005...
|
Vacated to Become Governor |
| 13 |
Bobby Brantley Bobby Lynn Brantley is an American Republican politician from the State of Florida. He served one term as 13th Lieutenant Governor of Florida, from 1987 to 1991....
|
1987 |
1991 |
Republican |
Bob MartinezRobert Martinez was the 40th Governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991. Prior to that, he was the mayor of Tampa from 1979 to 1986.- Education and early career :...
|
|
| 14 |
Buddy MacKayKenneth Hood "Buddy" MacKay, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat from Florida. A Democrat, he was briefly the 42nd Governor of Florida following the death of Lawton Chiles on December 12, 1998. During his long public service career he was also state legislator, U.S. Representative, Lt...
|
1991 |
1998 |
Democrat |
Lawton ChilesLawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. was an American politician from the US state of Florida. In a career spanning four decades, Chiles, a Democrat who never lost an election, served in the Florida House of Representatives , the Florida State Senate , the United States Senate , and as the 41st Governor of...
|
Vacated to Become Governor |
| 15 |
Frank Brogan Frank T. Brogan is the current Chancellor of the State University System of Florida and the former President of Florida Atlantic University. He was also the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Florida...
|
1999 |
2003 |
Republican | Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
|
Resigned to Become F.A.U.Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...
Chancellor |
| 16 |
Toni Jennings Antoinette "Toni" Jennings was the 16th Lieutenant Governor of Florida. She was nominated to the office by Governor Jeb Bush in February 2003 to replace Frank Brogan, who resigned to become president of Florida Atlantic University. She was sworn in on March 3, 2003, becoming the first woman to...
|
2003 |
2007 |
Republican |
Appointed, First Female |
| 17 |
Jeff KottkampJeffrey "Jeff" Kottkamp is an American politician from Florida, and served as the state's 17th Lieutenant Governor, from 2007 to 2011....
|
2007 |
2011 |
Republican |
Charlie CristCharles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...
|
Remained Republican After Governor Left Party |
| 18 |
Jennifer CarrollJennifer Carroll is a Trinidadian-born American politician who is the 18th and current Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. state of Florida. The first African American and the first woman elected to the position, she assumed the office on January 4, 2011...
|
2011 |
|
Republican |
Rick Scott |
First African-American/First Elected Female |
See also
- Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
- Florida Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state....
- Florida State Capitol
The Florida State Capitol, in Tallahassee, Florida, USA, is the state capitol of the U.S. state of Florida. The building is an architecturally and historically significant building, having been listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
- List of Governors of Florida
- List of current United States Lieutenant Governors
External links