Lieutenant Governor of California

The lieutenant governor of California is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the U.S. state of California. It is the second highest-ranking official in the state government. The lieutenant governor ranks first in the gubernatorial line of succession and is also the officer of the legislative branch, president of the Senate and the presiding officer of the Senate.

Lieutenant Governor of California
Seal of the State of California
Flag of State of California
Incumbent Eleni Kounalakis since January 7, 2019
California State Senate Government of California
Style	Madam Lieutenant Governor (Informal) The Honorable (Formal) Madam President (When presiding over California Senate)
Residence	None official
Seat	Sacramento, California California State Capitol
Appointer	Popular vote
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Constituting instrument	Constitution of California
Inaugural holder	John McDougal 1849
Succession	First (gubernatorial line of succession)
Salary	$130,490
Website	Official website

Eleni Kounalakis is the 50th and current lieutenant governor of California, in office since January 2019.

Constitutional roles and duties

The lieutenant governor presides as the president of the California State Senate and has all the powers of the governor to perform when the governor is out of the state.

The lieutenant governor often signing or vetoing legislation, or making political appointments, whenever the governor leaves the state.^[1] The lieutenant governor only presides over the Senate when needed by the president pro tempore or in order to cast a tie-breaking vote.

The lieutenant governor also is in charge of duties such as higher education, natural resources, economic development.

Eligibility and requirements

Section 5 of the state's constitution states for a person to serve as governor must:

• be at least eighteen years old.
• be a permanent resident in California and the United States for at least five years.

Election process

The lieutenant governor is elected by the people through the popular election to a four-year term, along with the gubernatorial candidate or the incumbent governor as their running mate. The gubernatorial candidate or incumbent governor must have the majority of the popular vote in order to win the election.

Line of succession

The lieutenant governor is first in the line of succession to become governor if the governor dies resigns, or is impeached from office.

List of lieutenant governors

Lieutenant governors of the State of California

No.	Lieutenant Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Governor[lower-alpha 1]
1			John McDougal (1818–1866)	December 20, 1849[lower-alpha 2] – January 9, 1851 (succeeded to governor)	Democratic	1849		Peter Hardeman Burnett (resigned January 9, 1851)
2			David C. Broderick (1820–1859)	January 9, 1851 – January 8, 1852 (did not run)	Democratic	Succeeded from president of the Senate		John McDougal
3			Samuel Purdy (1819–1882)	January 8, 1852 – January 9, 1856 (lost election)	Democratic	1851		John Bigler
						1853
4			Robert M. Anderson (1824–1878)	January 9, 1856 – January 8, 1858 (did not run)	American	1855		J. Neely Johnson
5			Joseph Walkup (1819–1873)	January 8, 1858 – January 9, 1860 (did not run)	Democratic	1857		John B. Weller
6			John G. Downey (1827–1894)	January 9, 1860 – January 20, 1860 (succeeded to governor)	Democratic	1859		Milton Latham
7			Isaac N. Quinn (acting) (1795–1865)	January 20, 1860 – January 7, 1861 (presidency expired)	Democratic	Succeeded from president of the Senate		John G. Downey
8			Pablo de la Guerra (acting) (1819–1874)	January 7, 1861 – January 10, 1862 (did not run)	Democratic	Succeeded from president of the Senate
9			John F. Chellis (1792–1883)	January 10, 1862 – December 10, 1863 (did not run)	Republican	1861		Leland Stanford
10			Tim N. Machin (1822–1905)	December 10, 1863 – December 5, 1867 (did not run)	Republican	1863		Frederick Low
11			William Holden (1824–1884)	December 5, 1867 – December 8, 1871 (did not run)	Democratic	1867		Henry Huntly Haight
12			Romualdo Pacheco (1831–1899)	December 8, 1871 – February 27, 1875 (succeeded to governor)	Republican	1871		Newton Booth
13			William Irwin (acting) (1827–1886)	February 27, 1875 – December 9, 1875 (elected governor)	Democratic	Succeeded from president of the Senate		Romualdo Pacheco[lower-alpha 3]
14			James A. Johnson (1829–1896)	December 9, 1875 – January 8, 1880 (did not run)	Democratic	1875		William Irwin
15			John Mansfield (1822–1896)	January 8, 1880 – January 10, 1883 (did not run)	Republican	1879		George C. Perkins
16			John Daggett (1833–1919)	January 10, 1883 – January 8, 1887 (did not run)	Democratic	1882		George Stoneman
17			Robert Waterman (1826–1891)	January 8, 1887 – September 13, 1887 (succeeded to governor)	Republican	1886		Washington Bartlett[lower-alpha 4] (died September 12, 1887)
18			Stephen M. White (acting) (1853–1901)	September 13, 1887 – January 8, 1891 (did not run)	Democratic	Succeeded from president of the Senate		Robert Waterman[lower-alpha 3]
19			John B. Reddick (1845–1895)	January 8, 1891 – January 11, 1895 (did not run)	Republican	1890		Henry Markham
20			Spencer G. Millard (1856–1895)	January 11, 1895 – October 24, 1895 (died in office)	Republican	1894		James Budd[lower-alpha 4]
—	Vacant			October 24, 1895 – October 26, 1895	Office vacated by death
21			William T. Jeter (1850–1930)	October 26, 1895[3] – January 3, 1899 (did not run)	Democratic	Appointed by governor
22			Jacob H. Neff (1830–1909)	January 3, 1899 – January 6, 1903 (did not run)	Republican	1898		Henry T. Gage
23			Alden Anderson (1867–1944)	January 6, 1903 – January 8, 1907 (did not run)	Republican	1902		George Pardee
24			Warren R. Porter (1861–1927)	January 8, 1907 – January 3, 1911 (did not run)	Republican	1906		James Gillett
25			Albert Joseph Wallace (1853–1939)	January 3, 1911 – January 5, 1915 (did not run)	Republican	1910		Hiram Johnson[lower-alpha 5] (resigned March 15, 1917)
26			John Morton Eshleman (1876–1916)	January 5, 1915 – February 28, 1916 (died in office)	Progressive	1914
—	Vacant			February 28, 1916 — July 22, 1916	Office vacated by death
27			William Stephens (1859–1944)	July 22, 1916 – March 15, 1917 (succeeded to governor)	Republican	Appointed by governor
—	Vacant			March 15, 1917 — January 6, 1919	Office vacated by succession to governor			William Stephens
28			C. C. Young (1869–1947)	January 7, 1919 – January 4, 1927 (elected governor)	Republican	1918
						1922		Friend Richardson
29			Buron Fitts (1895–1973)	January 4, 1927 – November 30, 1928 (resigned)[lower-alpha 6]	Republican	1926		C. C. Young
—	Vacant			November 30, 1928 — December 4, 1928	Office vacated by resignation
30			Herschel L. Carnahan (1879–1941)	December 4, 1928 – January 6, 1931 (did not run)	Republican	Appointed by governor
31			Frank Merriam (1865–1955)	January 5, 1931 – June 2, 1934 (succeeded to governor)	Republican	1930		James Rolph (died June 2, 1934)
—	Vacant			June 2, 1934 — January 7, 1935	Office vacated by succession to governor			Frank Merriam
32			George J. Hatfield (1887–1953)	January 8, 1935 – January 2, 1939 (did not run)[lower-alpha 7]	Republican	1934
33			Ellis E. Patterson (1897–1985)	January 2, 1939 – January 4, 1943 (lost election)	Democratic	1938		Culbert Olson
34			Frederick F. Houser (1904–1989)	January 4, 1943 – January 6, 1947 (did not run)[lower-alpha 8]	Republican	1942		Earl Warren (resigned October 4, 1953)
35			Goodwin Knight (1896–1970)	January 6, 1947 – October 4, 1953 (succeeded to governor)	Republican	1946
						1950
36			Harold J. Powers (1900–1996)	October 5, 1953 – January 5, 1959 (lost election)	Republican	Succeeded from president of the Senate		Goodwin Knight
						1954
37			Glenn M. Anderson (1913–1994)	January 5, 1959 – January 2, 1967 (lost election)	Democratic	1958		Pat Brown
						1962
38			Robert Finch (1925–1995)	January 2, 1967 – January 8, 1969 (resigned)[lower-alpha 9]	Republican	1966		Ronald Reagan
39			Edwin Reinecke (1924–2016)	January 8, 1969 – October 2, 1974 (resigned)[lower-alpha 10]	Republican	Appointed by governor
						1970
40			John L. Harmer (1934–2019)	October 2, 1974 – January 6, 1975 (lost election)	Republican	Appointed by governor
41			Mervyn Dymally (1926–2012)	January 6, 1975 – January 8, 1979 (lost election)	Democratic	1974		Jerry Brown[lower-alpha 4]
42			Mike Curb (b. 1944)	January 8, 1979 – January 3, 1983 (did not run)[lower-alpha 11]	Republican	1978
43			Leo T. McCarthy (1930–2007)	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1995 (did not run)	Democratic	1982		George Deukmejian[lower-alpha 3]
						1986
						1990		Pete Wilson[lower-alpha 3]
44			Gray Davis (b. 1942)	January 3, 1995 – January 4, 1999 (elected governor)	Democratic	1994
45			Cruz Bustamante (b. 1953)	January 4, 1999 – January 7, 2007 (term-limited)	Democratic	1998		Gray Davis (recalled November 17, 2003)
						2002
								Arnold Schwarzenegger[lower-alpha 3]
46			John Garamendi (b. 1945)	January 7, 2007 – November 3, 2009 (resigned)[lower-alpha 12]	Democratic	2006
47			Mona Pasquil (acting) (b. 1962)	November 3, 2009 – April 27, 2010 (successor took office)	Democratic	Appointed by governor[lower-alpha 13]
48			Abel Maldonado (b. 1967)	April 27, 2010 – January 10, 2011 (lost election)	Republican	Appointed by governor
						2010 [lower-alpha 14]		Jerry Brown[lower-alpha 4]
49			Gavin Newsom (b. 1967)	January 10, 2011 – January 7, 2019 (elected governor)	Democratic
						2014
50			Eleni Kounalakis (b. 1966)	January 7, 2019 – Incumbent[lower-alpha 15]	Democratic	2018		Gavin Newsom
						2022

Notes

1. Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
2. A civilian government was formed in late 1849 prior to official statehood, and operated as the state government for ten months before official statehood was granted.^[2]
3. Represented the Republican Party
4. Represented the Democratic Party
5. Represented the Progressive Party starting from the 1914 election
6. Fitts resigned to serve as a special prosecutor.
7. Hatfield instead ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for governor.
8. Houser instead ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate.
9. Finch resigned to be United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
10. Reineke was forced to resign when convicted and sentenced for perjury; it was later overturned on appeal.
11. Curb instead ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for governor.
12. Garamendi resigned, having been elected to the United States House of Representatives.
13. Pasquil was appointed acting lieutenant governor until the nominated replacement, Abel Maldonado, could be confirmed.
14. Newsom delayed his swearing in as lieutenant governor until January 10, 2011, to remain mayor of San Francisco; Maldonado stayed on as lieutenant governor until then.^[4]
15. Kounalakis' second term began on January 2, 2023.

References

1. "About the Office of Lt. Governor". California Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
2. "Peter Hardeman Burnett". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
3. "Governor Budd's Powers". Los Angeles Herald. AP. 1895-10-27. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
4. Upton Oot, John (January 7, 2011). "Newsom's Dual Role Raises Legal Quandary". The Bay Citizen. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2015.