The
Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina is the second highest elected official in 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
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and is the only elected official to have powers in both the legislative and executive branches of state government. The current Lieutenant Governor is Walter Dalton, a
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.
As of 2008, the administrative offices of the Lieutenant Governor are located in the historic Hawkins-Hartness House on N. Blount Street in Raleigh's Government District. The Lieutenant Governor also maintains an office at the nearby
North Carolina State Legislative BuildingThe North Carolina State Legislative Building is the current meeting place of the North Carolina General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It was opened in 1963, replacing the North Carolina State Capitol as the home of the legislature...
. At one time, the Lieutenant Governor had an office in the
North Carolina State CapitolThe North Carolina State Capitol is the main house of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Housing the offices of the Governor of North Carolina, it is located in the state capital of Raleigh on Union Square at One East Edenton Street. The cornerstone of the Greek Revival building was...
.
Duties and powers
The office of Lieutenant Governor was created by the
North Carolina ConstitutionThe Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the state government of North Carolina, United States; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law...
of 1868. Like the Vice-President of the United States, the lieutenant governor's primary responsibility is to preside over the
North Carolina SenateThe North Carolina Senate is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly.Its prerogatives and powers are similar to those of the other house, the House of Representatives. Its members do, however, represent districts that are larger than those of their colleagues in the House. The...
; until 1970, this was the lieutenant governor's only major responsibility, and the position was only part-time. The position is now a full-time job but still carries no official power beyond voting to break a tie in the Senate. Lieutenant Governors typically must depend on governors to assign them high-profile tasks. Much of the Lieutenant Governor's power in the state Senate was reduced by legislators in 1989, giving more power to the
Senate President pro temporeThe President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate is the highest-ranking officer of one house of the North Carolina General Assembly. The President of the Senate is the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, but the President Pro-Tem actually holds most of the power and presides in the...
.
By virtue of the office, the lieutenant governor is a member of the North Carolina Council of State, the North Carolina Board of Education, the North Carolina Capitol Planning Commission and the North Carolina Board of
Community CollegesThe North Carolina Community College System is a statewide network of fifty-eight public community colleges. Each college has a distinct governance system and policies. In total, the system enrolls over 800,000 students, and is the third largest community college system in the nation...
.
Succession to Office of Governor
The Lieutenant Governor is the first official in line to succeed the
Governor of North CarolinaThe Governor of North Carolina is the chief executive of the State of North Carolina, one of the U.S. states. The current governor is Bev Perdue, North Carolina's first female governor.-Powers:...
, should that office be vacated. This has occurred five times in the history of the office; four of the first six lieutenant governors were promoted upon the death, impeachment, or resignation of the previously sitting governor.
Lieutenant Governors have often run for Governor, but few have been successful.
Jim HuntJames Baxter Hunt Jr. is an American politician who was the 69th and 71st Governor of the state of North Carolina . He is the longest-serving governor in the state's history.-Early life:...
, elected governor in 1976, and Beverly Perdue, elected governor in 2008, are the two most recent exceptions.
The lieutenant governor is elected on a separate ballot from the governor; therefore, it is theoretically possible that the governor and lieutenant governor may be of different political party affiliations. This most recently was the case from 1985 to 1989.
List of Lieutenant Governors
- Tod R. Caldwell (R), 1868-1871 1 (Acting Governor from December 20, 1870)
- Curtis H. Brogden (R), 1873-1874 1
- Thomas J. Jarvis (D), 1877-1879 1
- James L. Robinson
James Lowry Robinson was a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of North Carolina; he served as lieutenant governor of the state for four years and as acting Governor of North Carolina for one month in 1883....
(D), 1881-1885
- Charles M. Stedman (D), 1885-1889
- Thomas M. Holt (D), 1889-1891 1
- Rufus A. Doughton
Rufus A. Doughton was a member of the North Carolina General Assembly from Alleghany County, North Carolina and Speaker of the state House of Representatives for one term ....
(D), 1893-1897
- Charles A. Reynolds
Charles Albert Reynolds was a civil engineer and North Carolina Republican politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1897 to 1901. Limited to one term in office by the state constitution of the time, Reynolds later ran unsuccessfully for the U.S...
(R), 1897-1901
- Wilfred D. Turner
Wilfred D. Turner was Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1901 to 1905. He was born in Turnersburg, North Carolina . He attended Duke University, Class of 1876, and was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity....
(D), 1901-1905
- Francis D. Winston
Francis Donnell Winston was a North Carolina politician and judge who served as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1905 to 1909....
(D), 1905-1909
- William C. Newland
William Calhoun "Will" Newland was an attorney who served a term as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina .A Democrat, Newland had previously served as mayor of his hometown, Lenoir, North Carolina, and was elected to terms in the North Carolina Senate and in the North Carolina House of...
(D), 1909-1913
- Elijah L. Daughtridge
Elijah Longstreet Daughtridge was a North Carolina politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1913 to 1917....
(D), 1913-1917
- Oliver Max Gardner
Oliver Max Gardner was the 57th Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1929 to 1933.-Early years and education:...
(D), 1917-1921
- William B. Cooper
William Bryant Cooper was the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1921 to 1925.Cooper was born in Cool Springs, South Carolina, on January 22, 1867. He became a prominent banker and businessman in New Hanover County, North Carolina, serving as president of the Wilmington Chamber of...
(D), 1921-1925
- Jacob E. Long
Jacob Elmer Long was the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1925 to 1929.Long was born in Yanceyville, North Carolina in 1880, the son of lawyer Jacob A. Long. J. Elmer Long also became a lawyer after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1903. He served as...
(D), 1925-1929
- Richard T. Fountain
Richard Tillman Fountain was a North Carolina politician who served as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1927 and as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1929 to 1933....
(D), 1929-1933
- Alexander H. Graham
Alexander H. Graham was a North Carolina attorney and politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1933 to 1937....
(D), 1933-1937
- Wilkins P. Horton
Wilkins Perryman Horton was the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1937 to 1941.Horton was born in Kansas City, Kansas on September 1, 1889. He practiced law and was elected to the North Carolina Senate from the Chatham County area, serving in 1919, 1927, 1931, and 1935...
(D), 1937-1941
- Reginald L. Harris
Reginald Lee Harris was a North Carolina politician who served as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1933 and as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1941 to 1945. A Democrat, Harris lived in Roxboro, North Carolina....
(D), 1941-1945
- Lynton Y. Ballentine
Lynton Yates Ballentine was a North Carolina politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1945 to 1949 and as North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture from 1949 until his death in 1964.-Biography:...
(D), 1945-1949
- Hoyt Patrick Taylor
Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Sr. was Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1949 to 1953.Taylor was born in Winton, North Carolina and attended Wake Forest College...
(D), 1949-1953
- Luther H. Hodges
Luther Hartwell Hodges, Sr. was an American politician, who served as the 64th Governor of the state of North Carolina from 1954 to 1961 and as United States Secretary of Commerce from 1961 to 1965.-Biography:...
(D), 1953-1954 1
- Luther E. Barnhardt
Luther Ernest Barnhardt was an American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina from 1957 to 1961.Barnhardt was born in Concord, North Carolina, November 29, 1903. He was an attorney and a member of the North Carolina Senate . Barnhardt was elected Lt...
(D), 1957-1961
- Harvey Cloyd Philpott
Harvey Cloyd Philpott was the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina in 1961.Philpott, a onetime member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, was elected as a Democrat to a four-year term as Lieutenant Governor in 1960, but he died only eight months into his term, on August 18, 1961...
(D), 1961-1961 2
- Robert W. Scott
Robert Walter "Bob" Scott was the 67th Governor of the state of North Carolina from 1969 to 1973. He was born in Haw River, North Carolina.The son of North Carolina Governor W...
(D), 1965-1969
- Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Jr.
Hoyt Patrick "Pat" Taylor, Jr. is a North Carolina politician and attorney who served as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina....
(D), 1969-1973
- James B. Hunt, Jr. (D), 1973-1977
- James C. Green
James Collins "Jimmy" Green was a North Carolina politician who served as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina .-Political career:...
(D), 1977-1985 3
- Robert B. Jordan, III
Robert Byrd "Bob" Jordan, III was an American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina for one term and who unsuccessfully ran for Governor of North Carolina in 1988....
(D), 1985-1989
- James Carson Gardner
James Carson "Jim" Gardner is a North Carolina businessman and politician who served as a U.S. Representative and as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina ....
(R), 1989-1993 4
- Dennis A. Wicker
Dennis A. Wicker is a North Carolina lawyer and politician from Sanford who served as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives , and as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina...
(D), 1993-2001
- Beverly Eaves Perdue (D), 2001-2009 5
- Walter H. Dalton
Walter H. Dalton is a Democratic politician from North Carolina and the state's current Lieutenant Governor. Prior to his election to that office, he was a member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's forty-sixth Senate district, including constituents in Cleveland and...
(D), 2009-
See also
North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Elections:
1996The North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election of 1996 was held on 5 November 1996, as part of the elections to the Council of State. North Carolina also held a gubernatorial election on the same day, but the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected independently.The election...
,
2000The North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election of 2000 was held on 7 November 2000, as part of the elections to the Council of State. North Carolina also held a gubernatorial election on the same day, but the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected independently.The election...
,
2004The North Carolina lieutenant governor election of 2004 was held on November 2, 2008, as part of the elections to the Council of State. North Carolina also held a gubernatorial election on the same day, but the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected...
,
2008The North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election of 2008 was held on 4 November 2008, as part of the elections to the Council of State. North Carolina also held a gubernatorial election on the same day, but the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor are elected independently.Democrat...
, 2012
External links