Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas

The lieutenant governor of Arkansas is the second-highest constitutional and elected office in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The lieutenant governor is the first in the gubernatorial line of succession, assuming the governorship in cases of the governor's impeachment, removal from office, death or inability to discharge the office's duties. The lieutenant governor also serves as president of the Arkansas Senate, with a tie-breaking vote. The lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor.

Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
State seal
Incumbent Leslie Rutledge since January 10, 2023 (2023-01-10)
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 (161 years ago) (1864-04-18)
Succession	First
Website	ltgovernor.arkansas.gov

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 referendums 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]

Under Nathan Green Gordon's 20 year-tenure, the lieutenant governorship assumed great influence in the State Senate, with the officer able to set the body's calendar, assign members to committees, and refer bills to committees. Upon Gordon's succession by Republican Maurice Britt in 1967, the Democratic-dominated Senate removed much of the office's powers.^[4] 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] From the office's recreation in 1926 until a constitutional amendment ratified in 2016, the lieutenant governor served as acting governor when the governor was traveling out of the state; the amendment allowed the governor to retain their powers while absent.^[5] The first woman to hold the office, Leslie Rutledge, was sworn in on January 10, 2023.^[6]

Powers, duties, and structure

The lieutenant governor is one of seven executive constitutional officers in the state of Arkansas.^[7] 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] They are constitutionally restricted to serving a maximum of two terms.^[8]

The lieutenant governor keeps an office in the Arkansas State Capitol.^[9] They collect an annual salary of $48,105.^[7]

List of officeholders

Lieutenant governors of the State of Arkansas

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			James M. Johnson (1832–1913)	July 2, 1868 – March 14, 1871 (resigned)[b]	Republican[1]	1868		Powell Clayton (resigned March 17, 1871)
—	Office vacant from 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)
—	Office vacant from 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			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
—	Office vacant from January 3–14, 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)
						1976
—	Office vacant from January 3–9, 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 (1943–2025)	January 15, 1991 – December 12, 1992 (succeeded to governor)	Democratic[1]	1990
—	Office vacant from December 12, 1992 - November 19, 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)
						1994
—	Office vacant from July 15 - 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
—	Office vacant from 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
—	Office vacant from 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[l]	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.^[10]
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. 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.^[11]
12. Rutledge's first term will expire January 12, 2027.