Same ticket in the general election, separate election in the primaries
Separate election
Title given to the leader of state senate
Position nonexistent
The lieutenant governor is the second-highest-ranking government official in 45 of the 50 U.S. states and four of the five territories. In those states and territories, it is the first in the line of succession in case of a vacancy in the office of governor (note: in Massachusetts and West Virginia, the lieutenant governor succeeds 'only' as acting governor), while in the remaining states and territories another office holds that status. Currently, 26 states elect a lieutenant governor on a ticket with the governor, while 17 states elect a lieutenant governor separately. In West Virginia, the president of the Senate, as elected by the State Senators, serves as the state's lieutenant governor. In Tennessee, the State Senators elect a Speaker of the Senate, who in turn serves as lieutenant governor. Five states do not have a lieutenant governor.
List of lieutenant governors by state
In the table below, "term ends" indicates the year the current lieutenant governor will leave office; a notation (term limits) after the year indicates that the current lieutenant governor is ineligible to seek re-election in that year. A notation of (retiring) after the year indicates that the current lieutenant governor is leaving office that year, having not sought re-election. A notation of (defeated) indicates that the current lieutenant governor was defeated for re-election.
Five states do not have a position of an official lieutenant governor. In these cases, the secretary of state or the president of the Senate is next in line for the governorship.
States and territories with differing party membership at the executive level
In most states or territories, the governor and lieutenant governor are members of the same political party. In the following states, the designated successor to the governorship is of a different political party than the governor:
^NY lieutenant gubernatorial terms begin at midnight New Year's Day.
^The Tennessee Senate elects their speaker who serves as lieutenant governor. The full title of the office is Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate.
^West Virginia Code 6A-1-4(b), as enacted in 2000, entitles the president of the West Virginia Senate to use the title Lieutenant Governor
^Mendelson was initially appointed Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia after the position was vacated on June 6, 2012, due to the resignation of Kwame R. Brown. Brown had been charged in federal court with bank fraud and, after his resignation, was further charged in D.C. Superior Court with making an unlawful cash campaign expenditure. Mendelson was subsequently elected to complete Brown's term on November 6, 2013.
American Samoa
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
United States Virgin Islands
Arizona[Note 1]
Maine
New Hampshire
Oregon
Wyoming
District of Columbia
Puerto Rico
