Still, history is firmly against those who want to get rid of the lieutenant governorships. Only four states — Alabama, Florida, Maryland and Mississippi — have ever done away with the position, according to the National Lieutenant Governors Association. All four reinstated the post. Maryland was the last to do so, in 1970, shortly after Republican Spiro Agnew left the governor’s office to become Richard Nixon’s vice president and the Maryland Legislature replaced Agnew with House Speaker Marvin Mandel, a Democrat.
In fact, all of the proposals for eliminating the lieutenant governorship face significant obstacles. Elsewhere, states seem to be moving in the opposite direction, including New Jersey where its first-ever lieutenant governor took office in January. The new post ends a practice in which the president of the state Senate took over during a gubernatorial vacancy. New Jersey had two vacancies in the governor’s office over the last decade, raising the public’s awareness of the lack of a lieutenant governor. It especially became apparent during one week in January 2002, when three different people served as acting governor.
Forty-three states now elect a lieutenant governor on the ballot. Plus, state senators in Tennessee and West Virginia choose a president who also bears the title of lieutenant governor. The only states without lieutenant governors are Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon and Wyoming. According to the NLGA, 20 lieutenant governors have taken the helm of their states since 2000.
Alaska has an unusual system for filling vacancies. Subject to legislative approval, the governor may designate someone to be third in line, who will move up to the lieutenant governorship in case its occupant becomes governor. When Governor Sarah Palin resigned, Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell succeeded her, and the head of the department of military and veterans affairs succeeded him. Stateline adds: "Both Parnell and Campbell are running to keep their new posts in this year’s elections, but their fates are not connected. Like in 17 other states, party voters decide the races separately, although the victors of the Republican primary in August will run as a team in November."
