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.
| Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas | |
|---|---|
 | |
_(1).jpg) | |
| 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 |
| Website | ltgovernor |
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
editThe 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
editThe 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
edit| No. | Lieutenant Governor | Term in office | Party | Election | Governor[a] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Calvin C. Bliss (1823–1891) |
April 18, 1864 – July 2, 1868 (did not run) |
Republican[1] | 1864 | Isaac Murphy | ||
| 2 | .jpg)
|
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 | |||||
| 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 | ||
| 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 | .jpg)
|
Bob C. Riley (1924–1994) |
January 12, 1971 – January 3, 1975 (succeeded to governor)[e] |
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 | .png)
|
Joe Purcell (1923–1987) |
January 14, 1975 – January 3, 1979 (succeeded to governor)[f] |
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)[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 | .jpg)
|
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)[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 | .jpg)
|
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[l] |
Republican[1] | 2022 | Sarah Huckabee Sanders | ||
Notes
edit- ^ 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.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac "Office of Lieutenant Governor". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Central Arkansas Library System. July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
- ^ "Arkansas Constitutions". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Central Arkansas Library System. July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ a b "History of Our Office". Arkansas Lieutenant Governor. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Earley, Neal (June 17, 2023). "Arkansas' constitutional officers getting 3% raise in salary". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
- ^ Goss 2011, p. 66.
- ^ Goss 2011, p. 249.
- ^ Dougan, Michael B. (September 28, 2022). "Ozro Amander Hadley (1826–1915)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
- ^ "Mark Darr, Arkansas lt. gov., says he'll resign over ethics case". Politico. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
Works cited
edit- Goss, Kay Collett (2011). The Arkansas State Constitution. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199778966.