Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas

Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
	State seal
	Incumbent; Leslie Rutledge; since January 10, 2023
	Government of Arkansas
Seat	State Capitol, Little Rock, Arkansas
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Arkansas
Inaugural holder	Calvin C. Bliss
Formation	April 18, 1864; (160 years ago)
Website	ltgovernor.arkansas.gov

The lieutenant governor of Arkansas presides over the Senate of the U.S. state of Arkansas 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
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)^[b]	Republican^[1]	1868	Powell Clayton (resigned March 17, 1871)
—	Vacant		March 14, 1871 – January 6, 1873	Office vacated by resignation		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)^[c]	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)^[d]	Democratic^[1]	1932	Junius Marion Futrell
7		Lee Cazort (1887–1969)	January 10, 1933 – January 12, 1937 (did not run)^[d]	Democratic^[1]	1934	Junius Marion Futrell
8		Robert B. Bailey (1892–1957)	January 12, 1937 – January 12, 1943 (did not run)	Democratic^[1]	1936	Carl Edward Bailey
					1938	Carl Edward Bailey
					1940	Homer Martin Adkins
9		James L. Shaver (1902–1985)	January 12, 1943 – January 14, 1947 (did not run)	Democratic^[1]	1942	Homer Martin Adkins
9		James L. Shaver (1902–1985)	January 12, 1943 – January 14, 1947 (did not run)	Democratic^[1]	1944	Benjamin Travis Laney
10		Nathan Green Gordon (1916–2008)	January 14, 1947 – January 10, 1967 (did not run)	Democratic^[1]	1946	Benjamin Travis Laney
					1948	Sid McMath
					1950	Sid McMath
					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
11		Maurice Britt (1919–1995)	January 10, 1967 – January 12, 1971 (did not run)	Republican^[1]	1968	Winthrop Rockefeller
12		Bob C. Riley (1924–1994)	January 12, 1971 – January 3, 1975 (succeeded to governor)^[e]	Democratic^[1]	1970	Dale Bumpers (resigned January 3, 1975)
12		Bob C. Riley (1924–1994)		Democratic^[1]	1972	Dale Bumpers (resigned January 3, 1975)
—	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)^[f]	Democratic^[1]	1974	David Pryor (resigned January 3, 1979)
13		Joe Purcell (1923–1987)		Democratic^[1]	1976	David Pryor (resigned January 3, 1979)
—	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)^[g]	Democratic^[1]	1980	Frank D. White^[h]
					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^[i] (resigned July 15, 1996)
16		Mike Huckabee (b. 1955)	November 20, 1993 – July 15, 1996 (succeeded to governor)	Republican^[1]	1993 (special)
16		Mike Huckabee (b. 1955)	November 20, 1993 – July 15, 1996 (succeeded to governor)	Republican^[1]	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)^[j]	Democratic^[1]	2006	Mike Beebe^[i]
19		Mark Darr (b. 1973)	January 11, 2011 – February 1, 2014 (resigned)^[k]	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
20		Tim Griffin (b. 1968)	January 13, 2015 – January 10, 2023 (term-limited)	Republican^[1]	2018	Asa Hutchinson
21		Leslie Rutledge (b. 1976)	January 10, 2023 – Incumbent^[l]	Republican^[1]	2022	Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Notes

^ Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
^ 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]
^ Cazort instead ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor.
^ Cazort instead ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor.
^ Riley had not run for re-election, instead running unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor.
^ Purcell had already won re-election as lieutenant governor.
^ Bryant instead ran successfully for Attorney General of Arkansas.
^ Represented the Republican Party.
^ ^a ^b Represented the Democratic Party.
^ Halter instead ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination to the United States Senate.
^ Darr resigned; he was under sanction for ethics violations involving illegal use of campaign funds.^[9]
^ Rutledge's first term will expire January 12, 2027.