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 (albeit rarely) 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]

From 1868 through 1977, the lieutenant governor, like the governor of North Carolina, was limited to a single four-year term. In 1977, the North Carolina Constitution was amended to allow both the governor and the lieutenant governor to serve two consecutive terms.[3]

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.[4]

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

# Lt. Governor Term of Office Political PartyGovernor(s)
1Tod R. Caldwell[lower-alpha 1]1868–1870Republican
Office vacant 1870–1873
2Curtis H. Brogden1873–1874Republican
3Thomas J. Jarvis[lower-alpha 1]1877–1879Democratic
4James L. Robinson[lower-alpha 2]1879–1885Democratic
5Charles M. Stedman1885–1889Democratic
6Thomas M. Holt1889–1891Democratic
Office vacant 1891–1893
7Rufus A. Doughton1893–1897Democratic
8Charles A. Reynolds1897–1901Republican
9Wilfred D. Turner1901–1905Democratic
10Francis D. Winston1905–1909Democratic
11William C. Newland1909–1913Democratic
12Elijah L. Daughtridge1913–1917Democratic
13Oliver Max Gardner1917–1921Democratic
14William B. Cooper1921–1925Democratic
15Jacob E. Long1925–1929Democratic
16Richard T. Fountain1929–1933Democratic
17Alexander H. Graham1933–1937Democratic
18Wilkins P. Horton1937–1941Democratic
19Reginald L. Harris1941–1945Democratic
20Lynton Y. Ballentine1945–1949Democratic
21Hoyt Patrick Taylor1949–1953Democratic
22Luther H. Hodges1953–1954Democratic
Office vacant 1954–1957
23Luther E. Barnhardt1957–1961Democratic
24Harvey Cloyd Philpott[lower-alpha 3]1961Democratic
Office vacant 1961–1965
25Robert W. Scott1965–1969Democratic
26Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Jr.1969–1973Democratic
27Jim Hunt1973–1977DemocraticJames Holshouser (R)
28James C. Green[lower-alpha 4]1977–1985DemocraticJim Hunt (D)
29Robert B. Jordan, III1985–1989DemocraticJames G. Martin (R)
30James Carson Gardner[lower-alpha 5]1989–1993RepublicanJames G. Martin (R)
31Dennis A. Wicker1993–2001DemocraticJim Hunt (D)
32Beverly Perdue[lower-alpha 6]2001–2009DemocraticMike Easley (D)
33Walter H. Dalton2009–2013DemocraticBeverly Perdue (D)
34Dan Forest2013–RepublicanPat McCrory (R)
Notes
  1. 1 2 Became Governor on December 20, 1870.
  2. ↑ Appointed to succeed Jarvis, as the General Assembly was in session. Elected in his own right in 1880.
  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 U.S. Lieutenant Governors of North Carolina

As of August 2014, seven former U.S. lieutenant governors of North Carolina were alive, the oldest being Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Jr. (served 1969–1973, born 1924). The most recent death of a former U.S. lieutenant governor of North Carolina was that of Robert W. Scott (served 1965–1969, born 1929), on January 23, 2009. The dos recently serving lieutenant governor to die was James C. Green (1977-1985) on February 4, 2000.

Lt. GovernorLt. Gubernatorial termDate of birth (and age)
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 63–64)
Beverly Eaves Perdue 2001–2009 January 14, 1947
Walter H. Dalton 2009–2013 May 21, 1949

References

External links

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