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 1776 abolished the council.
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. If absent, its president pro tempore serves as its presiding officer. The lieutenant governor is allowed to vote in the Senate only to break ties. While this power has been interpreted to apply to most generic legislation, it has been disputed by state officials as to whether the tie-breaking power applies to votes on matters such as constitutional amendments or on the Senate's concurrence with an executive appointment. Such questions are yet to be resolved by litigation in state courts. The constitution additionally stipulates that the lieutenant governor succeeds the governor in their office should it become vacant due to death, disqualification, or resignation. State law empowers the lieutenant governor to serve on several state boards and commissions. 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
#ImageNamePartyTermGovernorNotesSource1Shelton LeakeDemocratic1852–1856Joseph Johnson 2Elisha W. McComasDemocratic1856–1857Henry A. Wise 3William Lowther JacksonDemocratic1857–1860Henry A. Wise 4Robert Latane MontagueDemocratic1860–1864John LetcherRichmond (Confederate) Government 5Samuel PriceDemocratic1864–1865William SmithRichmond (Confederate) Government 6Daniel PolsleyUnion1861–1863John LetcherRestored (Unionist) Government 7Leopold Copeland Parker CowperUnion1863–1865John LetcherRestored (Unionist) Government 81865–1869William SmithFrancis Harrison PierpontHenry H. WellsGilbert Carlton Walker 9John F. LewisRepublican1869–1870Gilbert Carlton Walker 10John Lawrence Marye, Jr.Conservative1870–1874Gilbert Carlton Walker 11Robert E. WithersDemocratic1874–1875James L. Kemper 12Henry Wirtz ThomasRepublican1875–1878James L. Kemper 13James A. WalkerDemocratic1878–1882Frederick W. M. Holliday 14John F. LewisRepublican1882–1886William E. Cameron 15John E. MasseyDemocratic1886–1890Fitzhugh Lee 16James Hoge TylerDemocratic1890–1894Philip W. McKinney 17Robert Craig KentDemocratic1894–1898Charles Triplett O'Ferrall 18Edward EcholsDemocratic1898–1902James H. Tyler 19Joseph Edward WillardDemocratic1902–1906Andrew J. Montague 20James Taylor EllysonDemocratic1906–1918Claude A. SwansonWilliam Hodges MannHenry Carter Stuart 21Benjamin Franklin BuchananDemocratic1918–1922Westmoreland Davis 22Junius Edgar WestDemocratic1922–1930Elbert L. TrinkleHarry F. Byrd 23James H. PriceDemocratic1930–1938John Garland PollardGeorge C. Peery 24Saxon Winston HoltDemocratic1938–1940James H. Price died in office 25William M. TuckDemocratic1942–1946Colgate Darden 26Lewis Preston Collins II Democratic1946–1952William M. Tuckdied in office 27Allie Edward Stokes Stephens Democratic1952–1962John S. Battlefilled Collins's term 28Mills E. Godwin, Jr. Democratic1962–1966Albertis Harrison 29Fred G. Pollard Democratic1966–1970Mills Godwin 30J. Sargeant Reynolds Democratic1970–1971Linwood Holtondied in office 31Henry Howell Independent1971–1974Linwood HoltonCompleted Reynolds's term 32John N. Dalton Republican1974–1978Mills Godwin 33Chuck Robb Democratic1978–1982John N. Dalton 34Dick Davis Democratic1982–1986Chuck Robb 35Douglas Wilder Democratic1986–1990Gerald Baliles 36 Don Beyer Democratic1990–1998Douglas WilderGeorge Allen 37John H. Hager Republican1998–2002Jim Gilmore 38Tim Kaine Democratic2002–2006Mark Warner 39Bill Bolling Republican2006–2014Tim KaineBob McDonnell 40Ralph Northam Democratic2014–2018Terry McAuliffe 41Justin FairfaxDemocratic2018–2022Ralph Northam 42Winsome Earle-SearsRepublican2022–2026Glenn Youngkin 43 Ghazala HashmiDemocratic2026–presentAbigail Spanberger
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References
Works cited
External links Lieutenant Governor of Virginia's website List of past Lieutenant Governors