Lieutenant Governor of Alabama

The lieutenant governor of Alabama is the president of the Alabama Senate, elected to serve a four-year term. The office was created in 1868,^[1] abolished in 1875,^[2] and recreated in 1901.^[3] According to the current constitution, should the governor be out of the state for more than 20 days, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor, and if the governor dies, resigns or is removed from office (via impeachment), the lieutenant governor ascends to the governorship.^[4] Earlier constitutions said the powers of the governor devolved upon the successor, rather than them necessarily becoming governor,^[5] but the official listing includes these as full governors.^[6] The governor and lieutenant governor are not elected on the same ticket.

Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
Seal of the lieutenant governor
Incumbent Will Ainsworth since January 14, 2019
Government of Alabama
Style	The Honorable
Term length	Four years, renewable once consecutively
Inaugural holder	Andrew J. Applegate
Formation	1868
Succession	First
Salary	$68,556
Website	ltgov.alabama.gov

History

In 1868, the state of Alabama issued a constitution which provided for the office of lieutenant governor. The document prescribed that the officer was to serve as the president of the State Senate and cast tie-breaking votes in that body, and made them first in line of succession to the governor's office.^[7] Andrew J. Applegate was the first person to serve as lieutenant governor.^[8] In 1875, conservative Democrats determined the content of a new constitution which abolished the office in an attempt to reduce the size of state government. Alabama convened another constitutional convention in 1901. During its session, the incumbent governor died. Partly motivated by the lack of a clearly delineated line of gubernatorial succession, the delegates reestablished the office of lieutenant governor with responsibilities similar to those it previously held. Its constitutional responsibilities have been little altered since.^[7]

Since the office's inception, 31 people have served as lieutenant governor of Alabama. Of those, only two have served two terms or more. The first woman to hold the office, Lucy Baxley, served from 2003 to 2007.^[7]

Duties, powers, and structure

The lieutenant governor serves as president of the State Senate and assumes the office of governor in the event the gubernatorial office becomes vacant.^[9] Senate rules empower the lieutenant governor to determine the composition of Senate committees and refer bills to committees of their choosing. As a result, the lieutenant governor typically exercises significant influence over the progress of legislation in the body.^[7]

The state constitution does not provide any remedy in the event the lieutenant governor's office becomes vacant.^[7] In such an instance, their role as the presiding officer of the State Senate is assumed by the Senate president pro tempore.^[10]

List

Lieutenant governors of the State of Alabama

No.	Lieutenant Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Governor[a]
1			Andrew J. Applegate (1833–1870) [11]	July 13, 1868[12] – August 21, 1870 (died in office)	Republican[13]	1868		William Hugh Smith
—	Vacant			August 21, 1870 – November 26, 1870	Office vacated by death
2			Edward H. Moren (1825–1886) [14]	November 26, 1870[15] – November 25, 1872 (lost election)[16]	Democratic[17]	1870		Robert B. Lindsay
3			Alexander McKinstry (1822–1879) [18]	November 25, 1872[19] – November 24, 1874 (lost election)[20]	Republican[21]	1872		David P. Lewis
4			Robert F. Ligon (1823–1901) [22]	November 24, 1874[23] – November 27, 1876 (office abolished)	Democratic[24]	1874		George S. Houston
Office did not exist from November 28, 1876, to January 19, 1903
5			Russell McWhortor Cunningham (1855–1921) [25]	January 19, 1903[26] – January 14, 1907 (term-limited)	Democratic[27]	1902		William D. Jelks[b]
6			Henry B. Gray (1867–1919) [29]	January 14, 1907[30] – January 16, 1911 (term-limited)	Democratic[31]	1906		B. B. Comer
7			Walter D. Seed Sr. (1864–1959) [32]	January 17, 1911[c] – January 18, 1915 (term-limited)	Democratic[36]	1910		Emmet O'Neal
8			Thomas Kilby (1865–1943) [37][38][39]	January 19, 1915[40][c] – January 20, 1919 (term-limited)	Democratic[41]	1914		Charles Henderson
9			Nathan Lee Miller (1866–1933) [42]	January 21, 1919[43][c] – January 15, 1923 (term-limited)	Democratic[44]	1918		Thomas Kilby
10			Charles S. McDowell (1871–1943) [45]	January 16, 1923[46][c] – January 17, 1927 (term-limited)	Democratic[47]	1922		William W. Brandon[d]
11			William C. Davis (1867–1934) [48]	January 18, 1927[49][c] – January 19, 1931 (term-limited)	Democratic[50]	1926		Bibb Graves
12			Hugh Davis Merrill (1877–1954) [51]	January 20, 1931[52][c] – January 14, 1935 (term-limited)	Democratic[53]	1930		Benjamin M. Miller
13			Thomas E. Knight (1898–1937) [54]	January 15, 1935[55][c] – May 17, 1937 (died in office)	Democratic[56]	1934		Bibb Graves
—	Vacant			May 17, 1937 – January 16, 1939	Office vacated by death
14			Albert A. Carmichael (1895–1952) [57]	January 17, 1939[58][c] – January 18, 1943 (term-limited)	Democratic[59]	1938		Frank M. Dixon
15			Leven H. Ellis (1881–1968) [60]	January 19, 1943[61][c] – January 20, 1947 (term-limited)	Democratic[62]	1942		Chauncey Sparks
16			James C. Inzer (1887–1967) [63]	January 21, 1947[64][c] – January 15, 1951 (term-limited)	Democratic[65]	1946		Jim Folsom
17			James Allen (1912–1978) [66]	January 16, 1951[67][c] – January 17, 1955 (term-limited)	Democratic[68]	1950		Gordon Persons
18			William G. Hardwick (1910–1993) [69]	January 18, 1955[70][c] – January 19, 1959 (term-limited)	Democratic[71]	1954		Jim Folsom
19			Albert Boutwell (1904–1978) [72]	January 20, 1959[73][c] – January 14, 1963 (term-limited)	Democratic[74]	1958		John M. Patterson
20			James Allen (1912–1978) [66]	January 15, 1963[75][c] – January 16, 1967 (term-limited)	Democratic[76]	1962		George Wallace
21			Albert Brewer (1928–2017) [77][78][79]	January 17, 1967[80][c] – May 7, 1968 (succeeded to governor)	Democratic[81]	1966		Lurleen Wallace[e] (died May 7, 1968)
—	Vacant			May 7, 1968 – January 18, 1971	Office vacated by succession to governor			Albert Brewer
22			Jere Beasley (b. 1935) [83][84]	January 19, 1971[85][c] – January 15, 1979 (term-limited)	Democratic[86]	1970		George Wallace[f]
						1974
23			George McMillan (1943–2025) [87]	January 16, 1979[88][c] – January 17, 1983 (did not run)[g]	Democratic[89]	1978		Fob James
24			Bill Baxley (b. 1941) [90]	January 18, 1983[91][c] – January 19, 1987 (did not run)[h]	Democratic[92]	1982		George Wallace
25			Jim Folsom Jr. (b. 1949) [93][94]	January 20, 1987[95][c] – April 22, 1993 (succeeded to governor)	Democratic[96]	1986		H. Guy Hunt[i] (removed April 22, 1993)
						1990[97]
—	Vacant			April 22, 1993 – January 16, 1995	Office vacated by succession to governor			Jim Folsom Jr.
26			Don Siegelman (b. 1946) [98][99]	January 17, 1995[100][c] – January 18, 1999 (elected governor)	Democratic[101]	1994		Fob James[i]
27			Steve Windom (b. 1949) [102]	January 19, 1999[103][c] – January 20, 2003 (did not run)[j]	Republican[104]	1998		Don Siegelman[k]
28			Lucy Baxley (1937–2016) [105]	January 21, 2003[106][c] – January 15, 2007 (did not run)[l]	Democratic[107]	2002		Bob Riley[i]
29			Jim Folsom Jr. (b. 1949) [93][94]	January 16, 2007[108][c] – January 17, 2011 (lost election)	Democratic[109]	2006
30			Kay Ivey (b. 1944) [110][111]	January 18, 2011[112][c] – April 10, 2017 (succeeded to governor)	Republican[113]	2010		Robert J. Bentley (resigned April 10, 2017)
						2014
—	Vacant			April 10, 2017 – January 14, 2019	Office vacated by succession to governor			Kay Ivey
31			Will Ainsworth (b. 1981)	January 15, 2019[114][c] – Incumbent[m]	Republican[115]	2018
						2022

See also

• List of Alabama state legislatures

Notes

1. Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
2. Cunningham acted as governor from April 25, 1904, to March 5, 1905, while Jelks was absent from the state.^[28]
3. The constitutional start date for 1911 was January 16, and that is when Governor Emmet O'Neal and Lieutenant Governor Walter D. Seed Sr. were sworn in.^[33] However, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in the case of Oberhaus v. State ex rel. McNamara that, regardless of when the swearing in took place, B. B. Comer's gubernatorial term did not end until the end of Monday, and O'Neal's term did not begin until the first minute of the next day.^[34] This precedent appears to have quietly continued, as coverage of Robert J. Bentley's inauguration in 2011 noted he would not officially take office until midnight.^[35] As lieutenant governors are elected to the same term as governor, lieutenant governors since 1911 that served to the end of their term are noted as leaving office on Monday, and their successor taking office on Tuesday.
4. McDowell acted as governor from July 10, 1924, to July 11, 1924, while Brandon was absent from the state.^[6]
5. Brewer was acting governor on July 25, 1967, when Wallace had been absent from the state for 20 days; she returned to the state later that day.^[6][82]
6. Beasley acted as governor from June 5, 1972, to July 7, 1972, while Wallace was absent from the state.^[6]
7. McMillan instead ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor.
8. Baxley instead ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor.
9. Represented the Republican Party
10. Windom instead ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for governor.
11. Represented the Democratic Party
12. Baxley instead ran unsuccessfully for governor.
13. Ainsworth's second term began on January 17, 2023, and will expire January 18, 2027; he will be term-limited.