Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina

"President of the North Carolina Senate" redirects here. For the political leader of the Senate, see President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate.

The Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina is the second highest elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the only elected official to have powers in both the legislative and executive branches of state government. The current Lieutenant Governor is Dan Forest, a Republican.

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 Building. At one time, the Lieutenant Governor had an office in the North Carolina State Capitol.[1]

Duties and powers

The office of Lieutenant Governor was created by the North Carolina Constitution of 1868. Just as the Vice-President of the United States presides over the United States Senate, the lieutenant governor's primary responsibility is to preside over the North Carolina Senate; 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.

By virtue of the office (Ex officio), the lieutenant governor is a member of the North Carolina Council of State, the North Carolina Board of Education, the North Carolina Capital Planning Commission, and the North Carolina Board of Community Colleges, and serves as the Chairman of the eLearning Commission.[2]

Succession to Office of Governor

The Lieutenant Governor is the first official in line to succeed the Governor of North Carolina, 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 Hunt, elected governor in 1976, and Beverly Perdue, elected governor in 2008, are the two most recent exceptions.[3]

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

Parties

      Democratic       Republican

  1. Tod R. Caldwell (R), 1868–1871 [lower-alpha 1] (Acting Governor from December 20, 1870)
  2. Curtis H. Brogden (R), 1873–1874 [lower-alpha 1]
  3. Thomas J. Jarvis (D), 1877–1879 [lower-alpha 1]
  4. James L. Robinson (D), 1879–1885 [lower-alpha 2]
  5. Charles M. Stedman (D), 1885–1889
  6. Thomas M. Holt (D), 1889–1891 [lower-alpha 1]
  7. Rufus A. Doughton (D), 1893–1897
  8. Charles A. Reynolds (R), 1897–1901
  9. Wilfred D. Turner (D), 1901–1905
  10. Francis D. Winston (D), 1905–1909
  11. William C. Newland (D), 1909–1913
  12. Elijah L. Daughtridge (D), 1913–1917
  13. Oliver Max Gardner (D), 1917–1921
  14. William B. Cooper (D), 1921–1925
  15. Jacob E. Long (D), 1925–1929
  16. Richard T. Fountain (D), 1929–1933
  17. Alexander H. Graham (D), 1933–1937
  18. Wilkins P. Horton (D), 1937–1941
  19. Reginald L. Harris (D), 1941–1945
  20. Lynton Y. Ballentine (D), 1945–1949
  21. Hoyt Patrick Taylor (D), 1949–1953
  22. Luther H. Hodges (D), 1953–1954 [lower-alpha 1]
  23. Luther E. Barnhardt (D), 1957–1961
  24. Harvey Cloyd Philpott (D), 1961 [lower-alpha 3]
  25. Robert W. Scott (D), 1965–1969
  26. Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Jr. (D), 1969–1973
  27. James B. Hunt, Jr. (D), 1973–1977
  28. James C. Green (D), 1977–1985 [lower-alpha 4]
  29. Robert B. Jordan, III (D), 1985–1989
  30. James Carson Gardner (R), 1989–1993 [lower-alpha 5]
  31. Dennis A. Wicker (D), 1993–2001
  32. Beverly Eaves Perdue (D), 2001–2009[lower-alpha 6]
  33. Walter H. Dalton (D), 2009–2013
  34. Dan Forest (R), 2013-Present
Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Succeeded to the office of Governor.
  2. ↑ Appointed to succeed Jarvis, as the General Assembly was in session. Elected in his own right in 1881.
  3. ↑ Died in office.
  4. ↑ First Lt. Governor to serve two terms.
  5. ↑ First Republican elected since Reynolds in 1896.
  6. ↑ First female Lt. Governor.

See also

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Elections: 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012

Living former lieutenant governors

As of August 2014, seven former lieutenant governors were alive, the oldest being Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Jr. (1969–1973, born 1924). The most recent death of a former lieutenant governor was that of Robert W. Scott (1965–1969), on January 23, 2009.

Lt. GovernorLt. Gubernatorial termDate of birth
Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Jr. 1969–1973 April 1, 1924
James B. Hunt, Jr. 1973–1977 May 16, 1937
Robert B. Jordan, III 1985–1989 October 11, 1932
James Carson Gardner 1989–1993 April 8, 1933
Dennis A. Wicker 1993–2001 1952 (age 62–63)
Beverly Eaves Perdue 2001–2009 January 14, 1947
Walter H. Dalton 2009–2013 May 21, 1949

References

  1. ↑ News & Observer: Homeless lt. governors, next on Oprah?
  2. ↑ eLearningNC
  3. ↑ News & Observer: A curse on lieutenant governors?

External links