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Lieutenant Governor of Virginia

Constitutional officer of Virginia, US

Field	Value
post	Lieutenant Governor
body	the Commonwealth of Virginia
insignia	Seal of Virginia.svg
insigniasize	100px
insigniacaption	Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia
style	The Honorable
image	File:Ghazala Hashmi 2025 (cropped).png
incumbent	Ghazala Hashmi
incumbentsince	January 17, 2026
termlength	Four years, no term limits
formation	1852
inaugural	Shelton Leake
website	www.ltgov.virginia.gov/

The lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia 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 Ghazala Hashmi, who was elected in 2025 and is the second woman and fourth person of color to hold this position. The governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately and thus may be of different political parties. The lieutenant governor serves as the president of the Senate of Virginia and is first in the line of succession to the governorship; if the governor dies, resigns, or otherwise leaves office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor. In Virginia, the governor is not permitted to serve consecutive terms, but the lieutenant governor may do so, and has no term limit.

History

Beginning in the 1630s, the British Crown appointed several officials to aide the governors of the Colony of Virginia in the execution of their duties, collectively known as the Governor's Council or the Council of State. One member of this body was designated as the governor's deputy, or lieutenant governor, and exercised the governor's authority when they were absent.

The Virginia Constitution of 1851 created the modern office of the lieutenant governor. It provided for the popular election of the officer and designated them ex officio president of the Virginia Senate. In this capacity they replaced the Speaker of the Senate, which had been chosen by the body's own members as their presiding officer from 1776 until 1852. During the American Civil War, Virginia had two different governments and accordingly different sets of lieutenant governors. From 1865 until 1870, the lieutenant governors were appointed by the commanding general of the First Military District. In 1870, Virginia was readmitted to the federal union and, from then on, the officers were chosen by popular election. That year, the state adopted a new constitution which gave the lieutenant governor the power to cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate.

Douglas Wilder, sworn-in in 1986, was Virginia's first black lieutenant governor. Winsome Sears, sworn in on January 15, 2022, is the first woman to have held the office.

Election

Along with the governor and attorney general, the lieutenant governor is one of three popularly elected executive offices in the state of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected on their own ticket separate from the governor. They serve without term limits. If the governor-elect does not assume their office, the lieutenant governor-elect becomes governor.

Powers, duties, and structure

Article V of the Constitution of Virginia designates the lieutenant governor as the president of the Senate. The lieutenant governor can be impeached and removed from office by the Virginia General Assembly.

The lieutenant governor's office is located in the Oliver Hill Building in Richmond, Virginia. Their salary is set by legislation and cannot be altered during a given term to which they were elected. As of 2021, the annual salary is $36,321. As the role is a part-time position, most incumbents—unless already wealthy or retired by the time of their tenure—have held additional occupations.

List of elected lieutenant governors of Virginia

; Parties

#	Image	Name	Party	Term	Governor	Notes	Source
1		Shelton Leake	Democratic	1852–1856	Joseph Johnson
2		Elisha W. McComas	Democratic	1856–1857	Henry A. Wise
3	[[File:William Lowther Jackson.jpg	60px]]	William Lowther Jackson	Democratic	1857–1860	Henry A. Wise
4	[[File:Montague R 1874 (cropped).png	60px]]	Robert Latane Montague	Democratic	1860–1864	John Letcher	Richmond (Confederate) Government
5	[[File:Samuel Price - Brady-Handy.jpg	60px]]	Samuel Price	Democratic	1864–1865	William Smith	Richmond (Confederate) Government
6	[[File:DanielPolsley.jpg	60px]]	Daniel Polsley	Union	1861–1863	John Letcher	Restored (Unionist) Government
7		Leopold Copeland Parker Cowper	Union	1863–1865	John Letcher	Restored (Unionist) Government
8	1865–1869	William Smith
Francis Harrison Pierpont
Henry H. Wells
Gilbert Carlton Walker
9	[[File:Hon. John F. Lewis - NARA - 527363.jpg	60px]]	John F. Lewis	Republican	1869–1870	Gilbert Carlton Walker
10	[[File:John L Marye, Jr..jpg	60px]]	John Lawrence Marye, Jr.	Conservative	1870–1874	Gilbert Carlton Walker
11	[[File:Robert E. Withers - Brady-Handy.jpg	60px]]	Robert E. Withers	Democratic	1874–1875	James L. Kemper
12	[[File:Henry Wirtz Thomas.jpg	60px]]	Henry Wirtz Thomas	Republican	1875–1878	James L. Kemper
13	[[File:JAWalker.jpg	60px]]	James A. Walker	Democratic	1878–1882	Frederick W. M. Holliday
14	[[File:Hon. John F. Lewis - NARA - 527363.jpg	60px]]	John F. Lewis	Republican	1882–1886	William E. Cameron
15	[[File:John E. Massey.jpg	60px]]	John E. Massey	Democratic	1886–1890	Fitzhugh Lee
16	[[File:James Hoge Tyler.jpg	60px]]	James Hoge Tyler	Democratic	1890–1894	Philip W. McKinney
17	[[File:Robert C Kent 1891.jpg	60px]]	Robert Craig Kent	Democratic	1894–1898	Charles Triplett O'Ferrall
18	[[File:Edward Echols 1912.jpg	60px]]	Edward Echols	Democratic	1898–1902	James H. Tyler
19	[[File:J.E. Willard LCCN2014693220 (3x4a).jpg	60px]]	Joseph Edward Willard	Democratic	1902–1906	Andrew J. Montague
20	[[File:James Taylor Ellyson.jpg	60px]]	James Taylor Ellyson	Democratic	1906–1918	Claude A. Swanson
William Hodges Mann
Henry Carter Stuart
21	[[File:Benjamin F Buchanan 1920 square.jpg	60px]]	Benjamin Franklin Buchanan	Democratic	1918–1922	Westmoreland Davis
22	[[File:Junius E West 1912.jpg	60px]]	Junius Edgar West	Democratic	1922–1930	Elbert L. Trinkle
Harry F. Byrd
23	[[File:James H Price 1922 square.jpg	60px]]	James H. Price	Democratic	1930–1938	John Garland Pollard
George C. Peery
24	[[File:Lieutenant Governor Holt 1940.jpg	60px]]	Saxon Winston Holt	Democratic	1938–1940	James H. Price	died in office
25	[[File:William M. Tuck.jpg	60px]]	William M. Tuck	Democratic	1942–1946	Colgate Darden
26		Lewis Preston Collins II	Democratic	1946–1952	William M. Tuck	died in office
27		Allie Edward Stokes Stephens	Democratic	1952–1962	John S. Battle	filled Collins's term
28	[[File:Mills Godwin 1966.jpg	60px]]	Mills E. Godwin, Jr.	Democratic	1962–1966	Albertis Harrison
29	[[File:Fred G. Pollard 1968.png	60px]]	Fred G. Pollard	Democratic	1966–1970	Mills Godwin
30	[[File:J Sargeant Reynolds 1970.jpg	60px]]	J. Sargeant Reynolds	Democratic	1970–1971	Linwood Holton	died in office
31	[[File:Henry Howell 1972.jpg	60px]]	Henry Howell	Independent	1971–1974	Linwood Holton	Completed Reynolds's term
32	[[File:John Dalton 1976.jpg	60px]]	John N. Dalton	Republican	1974–1978	Mills Godwin
33	[[File:Charles Robb 1980.jpg	60px]]	Chuck Robb	Democratic	1978–1982	John N. Dalton
34	[[File:Dick Davis 1984.jpg	60px]]	Dick Davis	Democratic	1982–1986	Chuck Robb
35	[[File:D.Wilder S.Senate poster (cropped).jpg	60px]]	Douglas Wilder	Democratic	1986–1990	Gerald Baliles
36	[[File:Donald S Beyer Jr ambassador (cropped).jpg	60px]]	Don Beyer	Democratic	1990–1998	Douglas Wilder
George Allen
37	[[File:JHHager.jpg	60px]]	John H. Hager	Republican	1998–2002	Jim Gilmore
38	[[File:Tim Kaine in 2003 (030820-N-4294K (cropped).jpg	60px]]	Tim Kaine	Democratic	2002–2006	Mark Warner
39	[[File:Bill Bolling (cropped).jpg	60px]]	Bill Bolling	Republican	2006–2014	Tim Kaine
Bob McDonnell
40	[[File:Watts BBQ 2013 (8993613772) (cropped).jpg	60px]]	Ralph Northam	Democratic	2014–2018	Terry McAuliffe
41	[[File:Justin Fairfax 20.jpg	60px]]	Justin Fairfax	Democratic	2018–2022	Ralph Northam
42	[[File:Winsome Sears portrait, 2022 (cropped).jpg	60px]]	Winsome Earle-Sears	Republican	2022–2026	Glenn Youngkin
43	[[File:Ghazala Hashmi 2025 (cropped).png	60px]]	Ghazala Hashmi	Democratic	2026–present	Abigail Spanberger

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:50 left:20 AlignBars = late

Define $today = Define $later = 31/12/

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1852 till:01/12/2027 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1852 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:8 start:1852

Colors = id:dem value:rgb(0.2, 0.2, 1) legend:Democratic id:un value:rgb(1, 0.6666666666666666, 0.8) legend:Union id:rep value:rgb(1, 0.2, 0.2) legend:Republican id:con value:rgb(1, 0.5490196078431373, 0) legend:Conservative id:ind value:rgb(0.867, 0.867, 0.733) legend:Independent id:linemark value:gray(0.8) id:linemark2 value:gray(0.9)

Legend = columns:1

BarData = bar:Leake bar:McComas bar:LJackson bar:Montague bar:Price bar:Polsley bar:Cowper bar:FLewis bar:Marye bar:Withers bar:WThomas bar:Walker bar:Massey bar:HTyler bar:Kent bar:Echols bar:Willard bar:Ellyson bar:Buchanan bar:West bar:HPrice bar:Holt bar:Tuck bar:Collins bar:SStephens bar:Godwin bar:Pollard bar:Reynolds bar:Howell bar:Dalton bar:Robb bar:Davis bar:Wilder bar:Beyer bar:Hager bar:Kaine bar:Bolling bar:Northam bar:Fairfax bar:Sears bar:Hashmi

PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till bar:Leake from: 16/01/1852 till: 01/01/1856 color:dem text:"Shelton Leake" bar:McComas from: 01/01/1856 till: 07/12/1857 color:dem text:"Elisha W. McComas" bar:LJackson from: 07/12/1857 till: 01/01/1860 color:dem text:"William Lowther Jackson" bar:Montague from: 01/01/1860 till: 01/01/1864 color:dem text:"Robert Latane Montague (conf.)" bar:Price from: 01/01/1864 till: 31/12/1864 color:dem text:"Samuel Price (conf.)" bar:Polsley from: 01/01/1861 till: 01/01/1863 color:un text:"Daniel Polsley" bar:Cowper from: 01/01/1863 till: 04/10/1869 color:un text:"Leopold Copeland Parker Cowper" bar:FLewis from: 05/10/1869 till: 01/01/1870 color:rep #FLewis from: 01/01/1882 till: 01/01/1886 color:rep text:"John F. Lewis" bar:Marye from: 01/01/1870 till: 01/01/1874 color:con text:"John Lawrence Marye Jr." bar:Withers from: 01/01/1874 till: 01/03/1875 color:dem text:"Robert E. Withers" bar:WThomas from: 01/03/1875 till: 01/01/1878 color:rep text:"Henry Wirtz Thomas" bar:Walker from: 01/01/1878 till: 01/01/1882 color:dem text:"James A. Walker" bar:Massey from: 01/01/1886 till: 01/01/1890 color:dem text:"John E. Massey" bar:HTyler from: 01/01/1890 till: 01/01/1894 color:dem text:"James Hoge Tyler" bar:Kent from: 01/01/1894 till: 01/01/1898 color:dem text:"Rober Craig Kent" bar:Echols from: 01/01/1898 till: 01/01/1902 color:dem text:"Edward Echols" bar:Willard from: 01/01/1902 till: 01/02/1906 color:dem text:"Joseph Edward Willard" bar:Ellyson from: 02/02/1906 till: 01/02/1918 color:dem text:"James Taylor Ellyson" bar:Buchanan from: 02/02/1918 till: 01/01/1922 color:dem text:"Benjamin Franklin Buchanan" bar:West from: 02/02/1922 till: 15/01/1930 color:dem text:"Junius Edgar West" bar:HPrice from: 17/01/1930 till: 19/01/1938 color:dem text:"James Hubert Price" bar:Holt from: 07/01/1931 till: 31/03/1940 color:dem text:"Saxon W. Holt" bar:Tuck from: 21/01/1942 till: 16/01/1946 color:dem text:"William M. Tuck" bar:Collins from: 16/01/1946 till: 20/09/1952 color:dem text:"Lewis Preston Collins II" bar:SStephens from: 02/12/1952 till: 13/01/1962 color:dem text:"Allie Edward Stakes Stephens" bar:Godwin from: 14/01/1962 till: 15/01/1966 color:dem text:"Mills Godwin" bar:Pollard from: 12/01/1966 till: 17/01/1970 color:dem text:"Fred G. Pollard" bar:Reynolds from: 18/01/1970 till: 13/06/1971 color:dem text:"J. Sargeant Reynolds" bar:Howell from: 13/06/1971 till: 12/01/1974 color:ind text:"Henry Howell" bar:Dalton from: 13/01/1974 till: 14/01/1978 color:rep text:"John N. Dalton" bar:Robb from: 15/01/1978 till: 16/01/1982 color:dem text:"Chuck Robb" bar:Davis from: 17/01/1982 till: 18/01/1986 color:dem text:"Dick Davis" bar:Wilder from: 19/01/1986 till: 13/01/1990 color:dem text:"Douglas Wilder" bar:Beyer from: 14/01/1990 till: 17/01/1998 color:dem text:"Don Beyer" bar:Hager from: 18/01/1998 till: 12/01/2002 color:rep text:"John H. Hager" bar:Kaine from: 13/01/2002 till: 14/01/2006 color:dem text:"Tim Kaine" bar:Bolling from: 15/01/2006 till: 11/01/2014 color:rep text:"Bill Bolling" bar:Northam from: 12/01/2014 till: 13/01/2018 color:dem text:"Ralph Northam" bar:Fairfax from: 14/01/2018 till: 15/01/2022 color:dem text:"Justin Fairfax" bar:Sears from: 16/01/2022 till: 17/01/2026 color:rep text:"Winsome Sears" bar:Hashmi from: 17/01/2026 till: $today color:dem text:"Ghazala Hashmi"

References

Works cited

References

Tarter, Brent. (December 7, 2020). "Governor's Council, The". Virginia Humanities.
(June 8, 2022). "Lieutenant Governors of Virginia". Virginia Humanities.
Elsman, Dale. (January 12, 1986). "Baliles, Wilder, Ms. Terry sworn in, say state 'leading the nation again'". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Lenor, Mel. (January 16, 2022). "Inauguration Day : Youngkin Sworn in as Governor". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Rankin, Sarah. (January 22, 2022). "First female lieutenant governor takes her seat in the Senate". Eastern Shore News.
Williamson, Jeff. (October 31, 2021). "Virginia governor, attorney general and lieutenant governor 2021 election results". Graham Media Group.
"History of the Office". Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.
Schapiro, Jeff E.. (February 3, 2013). "Cuccinelli comes a'courting – Bolling". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
(2021). "State Agencies : Office of the Lieutenant Governor". Commonwealth of Virginia.
Wilson, Patrick. (May 6, 2021). "Here's a pre-convention glance at the six GOP candidates for lieutenant governor". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Vozzella, Laura. (September 4, 2018). "Like part-timers before him, Virginia's lieutenant governor gets a gig on the side". The Washington Post.

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