Lieutenant Governor of Virginia


The Lieutenant Governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Lieutenant Governor is elected every four years along with the Governor and Attorney General. The office is currently held by Democrat Justin Fairfax. The governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately and thus may be of different political parties. The lieutenant governor's office is located in the Oliver Hill Building on Capitol Square in Richmond, Virginia. The lieutenant governor serves as the President of the Senate of Virginia and is first in the line of succession to the governor; in the event the governor dies, resigns, or otherwise leaves office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor. Unlike the governor, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia can serve consecutive terms.
Since the late 1920s, the lieutenant governor has been one of only three positions that competes in a statewide election in Virginia. Since the governor cannot serve consecutive terms, whoever is elected lieutenant governor is almost always considered a leading candidate for governor. This is especially the case if the lieutenant governor and the attorney general come from different parties. For example, after Democrat Tim Kaine was elected lieutenant governor and Republican Jerry Kilgore was elected attorney general in 2001, it was virtually taken for granted that they would face each other in the 2005 election.
The office of Lieutenant Governor is of colonial origin and can be traced to the Virginia Council of London. The Council was appointed by the King, and in turn, the Council appointed the Lieutenant Governor or deputy. When the English crown forbade colonial governors' absence from the colonies without leave in 1680, it became the Council’s duty to designate or send a deputy who could exercise all the powers of the Governor under the written instructions of both the crown and the Governor. Virginia’s first Constitution, adopted in 1776, provided a Council of State from which a President was annually selected from its members. The President acted as Lieutenant Governor in the case of the death, inability, or necessary absence of the Governor from the government. The Virginia Constitution of 1851 abolished the Governor’s Council of State and provided for the popular election of the Lieutenant Governor. Shelton Farrar Leake, from Albemarle County, was the first elected Lieutenant Governor, serving from 1852 to 1856.
Constitutionally, the Lieutenant Governor is president of the Senate of Virginia, as is the case with many other lieutenant governors in the United States. Unlike many of his counterparts, the Lieutenant Governor regularly presides over Senate sessions rather than delegating this role to the president pro tempore or majority leader.

List of Lieutenant Governors of Virginia

; Parties
#NamePartyTermGovernorNotes
1Shelton LeakeDemocratic1852–1856Joseph Johnson
2Elisha W. McComas1856–1857Henry A. Wise
3William Lowther JacksonDemocratic1857–1860Henry A. Wise
4.Robert Latane Montague1860–1864John Letcher
5Samuel PriceDemocratic1864–1865William "Extra Billy" SmithRichmond Government
6Daniel PolsleyRepublican1861–1863John LetcherRestored Government
7Leopold Copeland Parker CowperWhig1863–1865John LetcherRestored Government
8Leopold Copeland Parker CowperWhig1865–1869William "Extra Billy" Smith
Francis Harrison Pierpont
Henry H. Wells
Gilbert Carlton Walker
9John F. LewisRepublican1869–1870Gilbert Carlton Walker
10John Lawrence Marye, Jr.Conservative1870–1874Gilbert Carlton Walker
11Robert E. WithersDemocratic1874–1875James L. Kemper
12Henry Wirtz ThomasRepublican1875–1878James L. Kemper
13James A. WalkerDemocratic1878–1882Frederick W. M. Holliday
14John F. LewisRepublican1882–1886William E. Cameron
15John Edward "Parson" MasseyDemocratic1886–1890Fitzhugh Lee
16James Hoge TylerDemocratic1890–1894Philip W. McKinney
17Robert Craig KentDemocratic1894–1898Charles Triplett O'Ferrall
18Edward EcholsDemocratic1898–1902James H. Tyler
19Joseph Edward WillardDemocratic1902–1906Andrew J. Montague
20James Taylor EllysonDemocratic1906–1918Claude A. Swanson
William Hodges Mann
Henry Carter Stuart
21Benjamin Franklin BuchananDemocratic1918–1922Westmoreland Davis
22Junius Edgar WestDemocratic1922–1930Elbert L. Trinkle
Harry F. Byrd
23James H. PriceDemocratic1930–1938John Garland Pollard
George C. Peery
24Saxon Winston HoltDemocratic1938–1940James H. Pricedied in office, leaving a vacancy
25William M. TuckDemocratic1942–1946Colgate Darden
26Lewis Preston Collins IIDemocratic1946–1952William M. Tuckdied in office
27Allie Edward Stokes StephensDemocratic1952–1962John S. Battlefilled Collins's term
28Mills E. Godwin, Jr.Democratic1962–1966Albertis Harrison
29Fred G. PollardDemocratic1966–1970Mills Godwin
30J. Sargeant ReynoldsDemocratic1970–1971Linwood Holton died in office
31Henry HowellDemocratic1971–1974Linwood Holton filled Reynolds's term
32John N. DaltonRepublican1974–1978Mills Godwin
33Chuck RobbDemocratic1978–1982John N. Dalton
34Dick DavisDemocratic1982–1986Chuck Robb
35Douglas WilderDemocratic1986–1990Gerald BalilesFirst African American to be elected as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
36Don BeyerDemocratic1990–1998Douglas Wilder
George Allen
37John H. HagerRepublican1998–2002Jim Gilmore
38Tim KaineDemocratic2002–2006Mark Warner
39Bill BollingRepublican2006–2014Tim Kaine
Bob McDonnell
40Ralph NorthamDemocratic2014–2018Terry McAuliffe
41Justin FairfaxDemocratic2018–presentRalph Northam

Living former Lieutenant Governors of Virginia

, seven former lieutenant governors of Virginia were alive, the oldest being Douglas Wilder. The most recent death of a former lieutenant governor of Virginia was that of Richard J. Davis, Jr., on March 4, 1999. He is also the most recently serving lieutenant governor of Virginia to die.
Lt. GovernorLt. Gubernatorial termDate of birth
Chuck Robb1978-1982
Douglas Wilder1986-1990
Don Beyer1990-1998
John H. Hager1998-2002
Tim Kaine2002-2006
Bill Bolling2006-2014
Ralph Northam2014-2018