Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
State seal
Incumbent
Leslie Rutledge
since January 10, 2023 (2023-01-10)
Government of Arkansas
SeatState Capitol, Little Rock, Arkansas
Term lengthFour years, renewable once
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Arkansas
Inaugural holderCalvin C. Bliss
FormationApril 18, 1864 (1864-04-18)
Websiteltgovernor.arkansas.gov

The lieutenant governor of Arkansas presides over the Arkansas Senate with a tie-breaking vote, serves as acting governor of Arkansas when the governor is out of state and assumes the governorship in cases of impeachment, removal from office, death or inability to discharge the office's duties. The position is elected separately from the Arkansas Governor.

The position of Lieutenant Governor was created by the Sixth Amendment to the Arkansas Constitution in 1914, but was not filled until 1927. The Amendment was approved by the electorate in 1914, with returns showing 45,567 in favor and 45,206 opposed. The Speaker of the House declared the measure lost because it had not received a majority of the highest total vote, which was 135,517. In 1925, it was discovered that the Initiative and Referendum of 1910 had amended this majority requirement so that only a majority of those voting on a specific question was required. So, in 1926, the 1914 initiative was declared to be valid and Harvey Parnell was elected Arkansas' first lieutenant governor.

Two recent incumbents, Winthrop Paul Rockefeller and Mike Huckabee, began their respective tenures in the midst of regular term periods, due to the elevation of their predecessors to the governorship. Jim Guy Tucker succeeded Bill Clinton as governor in December 1992, upon Clinton's resignation days before assuming his office as President of the United States, creating the need for a special election to fill the lieutenant governor's office. When Tucker was convicted of conspiracy and mail fraud charges in 1996, Huckabee succeeded him as governor, paving the way for the November 1996 special election of Rockefeller as lieutenant governor.

The current lieutenant governor is Leslie Rutledge, since January 10, 2023.

History

The U.S. state of Arkansas had no office of lieutenant governor under its original constitution.[1] Amidst the American Civil War in 1864, a new constitution was ratified and a pro-Union government was installed which included a lieutenant governor to be, like several other state officials, popularly elected to serve four-year terms.[1][2] Calvin C. Bliss was the first person to hold the office. The position was preserved in the new constitution ratified by the state in 1868, but eliminated in the constitution of 1874.[1]

In 1914, an amendment to the constitution to reestablish the office of lieutenant governor was subject to a popular referendum.[1] While the item received more affirmative than negative votes,[3] the Arkansas Supreme Court held that only a majority of the votes of all the citizens who had participated in that year's referenda could constitute a passing margin. In 1925, the court reversed its decision, ruling that the office be filled in the state elections occurring in 1926.[1] Harvey Parnell was subsequently elected to the office.[3] The lieutenant governor held office for a term of two years until 1986, when the term was expanded to four years. The constitution was amended in 1992 to provide for term limits.[1] The first woman to hold the office, Leslie Rutledge, was sworn in on January 10, 2023.[4]

Powers, duties, and structure

The lieutenant governor is one of seven executive constitutional officers in the state of Arkansas.[5] The main responsibilities of the lieutenant governor are to serve as the president of the Arkansas Senate and to succeed to the governorship should it become vacant.[1] In the event of the governor's temporary absence from the state, the lieutenant governor exercises the powers of the governor.[6] They are constitutionally restricted to serving a maximum of two terms.[7]

They collect an annual salary of $48,105.[5]

List of officeholders

Lieutenant governors of the State of Arkansas
No. Lieutenant Governor Term in office Party Election Governor[lower-alpha 1]
1   Calvin C. Bliss
(1823–1891)		 April 18, 1864
–
July 2, 1868
(did not run)		 Republican[1] 1864   Isaac Murphy
2 James M. Johnson
(1832–1913)		 July 2, 1868
–
March 14, 1871
(resigned)[lower-alpha 2]		 Republican[1] 1868 Powell Clayton
(resigned March 17, 1871)
— Vacant March 14, 1871
–
January 6, 1873		 Office vacated
by resignation
Ozra Amander Hadley
3 Volney V. Smith
(1841–1897)		 January 6, 1873
–
November 12, 1874
(office abolished)		 Republican[1] 1872 Elisha Baxter
Office did not exist from November 12, 1874, to January 11, 1927
4 Harvey Parnell
(1880–1936)		 January 11, 1927
–
March 14, 1928
(succeeded to governor)		 Democratic[1] 1926 John Ellis Martineau
(resigned March 14, 1928)
— Vacant March 4, 1928
–
January 14, 1929		 Office vacated
by succession to governor		 Harvey Parnell
5 Lee Cazort
(1887–1969)		 January 14, 1929
–
January 12, 1931
(did not run)[lower-alpha 3]		 Democratic[1] 1928
6 Lawrence Elery Wilson
(1884–1946)		 January 12, 1931
–
January 10, 1933
(lost nomination)		 Democratic[1] 1930
7 Lee Cazort
(1887–1969)		 January 10, 1933
–
January 12, 1937
(did not run)[lower-alpha 4]		 Democratic[1] 1932 Junius Marion Futrell
1934
8 Robert B. Bailey
(1892–1957)		 January 12, 1937
–
January 12, 1943
(did not run)		 Democratic[1] 1936 Carl Edward Bailey
1938
1940 Homer Martin Adkins
9 James L. Shaver
(1902–1985)		 January 12, 1943
–
January 14, 1947
(did not run)		 Democratic[1] 1942
1944 Benjamin Travis Laney
10 Nathan Green Gordon
(1916–2008)		 January 14, 1947
–
January 10, 1967
(did not run)		 Democratic[1] 1946
1948 Sid McMath
1950
1952 Francis Cherry
1954 Orval Faubus
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
11 Maurice Britt
(1919–1995)		 January 10, 1967
–
January 12, 1971
(did not run)		 Republican[1] 1966 Winthrop Rockefeller
1968
12 Bob C. Riley
(1924–1994)		 January 12, 1971
–
January 3, 1975
(succeeded to governor)[lower-alpha 5]		 Democratic[1] 1970 Dale Bumpers
(resigned January 3, 1975)
1972
— Vacant January 3, 1975
–
January 14, 1975		 Office vacated
by succession to governor		 Bob C. Riley
13 Joe Purcell
(1923–1987)		 January 14, 1975
–
January 3, 1979
(succeeded to governor)[lower-alpha 6]		 Democratic[1] 1974 David Pryor
(resigned January 3, 1979)
1976
— Vacant January 3, 1979
–
January 9, 1979		 Office vacated
by succession to governor		 Joe Purcell
13 Joe Purcell
(1923–1987)		 January 9, 1979
–
January 19, 1981
(did not run)		 Democratic[1] 1978 Bill Clinton
14 Winston Bryant
(b. 1938)		 January 19, 1981
–
January 15, 1991
(did not run)[lower-alpha 7]		 Democratic[1] 1980 Frank D. White[lower-alpha 8]
1982 Bill Clinton
(resigned December 12, 1992)
1984
1986
15 Jim Guy Tucker
(b. 1943)		 January 15, 1991
–
December 12, 1992
(succeeded to governor)		 Democratic[1] 1990
— Vacant December 12, 1992
–
November 20, 1993		 Office vacated
by succession to governor		 Jim Guy Tucker[lower-alpha 9]
(resigned July 15, 1996)
16 Mike Huckabee
(b. 1955)		 November 20, 1993
–
July 15, 1996
(succeeded to governor)		 Republican[1] 1993
(special)
1994
— Vacant July 15, 1996
–
November 19, 1996		 Office vacated
by succession to governor		 Mike Huckabee
17 Winthrop Paul Rockefeller
(1948–2006)		 November 19, 1996
–
July 16, 2006
(died in office)		 Republican[1] 1996
(special)
1998
2002
— Vacant July 16, 2006
–
January 9, 2007		 Office vacated
by death
18 Bill Halter
(b. 1960)		 January 9, 2007
–
January 11, 2011
(did not run)[lower-alpha 10]		 Democratic[1] 2006 Mike Beebe[lower-alpha 9]
19 Mark Darr
(b. 1973)		 January 11, 2011
–
February 1, 2014
(resigned)[lower-alpha 11]		 Republican[1] 2010
— Vacant February 1, 2014
–
January 13, 2015		 Office vacated
by resignation
20 Tim Griffin
(b. 1968)		 January 13, 2015
–
January 10, 2023
(term-limited)		 Republican[1] 2014 Asa Hutchinson
2018
21 Leslie Rutledge
(b. 1976)		 January 10, 2023
–
Incumbent[lower-alpha 12]		 Republican[1] 2022 Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Notes

  1. ↑ Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
  2. ↑ Clayton resigned from the governorship, having been elected to the United States Senate. He had delayed his resignation to prevent Johnson from succeeding him; party machinations led to Johnson's resignation and acceptance of the office of secretary of state, so that Hadley, as president pro tempore of the senate, could act as governor for the remainder of the term.[8]
  3. ↑ Cazort instead ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor.
  4. ↑ Cazort instead ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor.
  5. ↑ Riley had not run for re-election, instead running unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor.
  6. ↑ Purcell had already won re-election as lieutenant governor.
  7. ↑ Bryant instead ran successfully for Attorney General of Arkansas.
  8. ↑ Represented the Republican Party.
  9. 1 2 Represented the Democratic Party.
  10. ↑ Halter instead ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination to the United States Senate.
  11. ↑ Darr resigned; he was under sanction for ethics violations involving illegal use of campaign funds.[9]
  12. ↑ Rutledge's first term will expire January 12, 2027.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 "Office of Lieutenant Governor". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Central Arkansas Library System. July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Arkansas Constitutions". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Central Arkansas Library System. July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "History of Our Office". Arkansas Lieutenant Governor. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  4. ↑ Roberts, Adam (January 10, 2023). "Leslie Rutledge sworn in as Arkansas' first woman to serve as lieutenant governor". 40/29 News. Arkansas Hearst Television. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Earley, Neal (June 17, 2023). "Arkansas' constitutional officers getting 3% raise in salary". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  6. ↑ Goss 2011, p. 66.
  7. ↑ Goss 2011, p. 249.
  8. ↑ Dougan, Michael B. (September 28, 2022). "Ozro Amander Hadley (1826–1915)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Mark Darr, Arkansas lt. gov., says he'll resign over ethics case". Politico. Retrieved November 27, 2018.

Works cited

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