Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
Seal of the lieutenant governor
Incumbent Jim Tressel since February 14, 2025
Style	The Honorable
Term length	Four years, two consecutive with four-year pause thereafter
Inaugural holder	William Medill (1852)
Formation	Ohio Constitution
Salary	$78,041
Website	Official website

The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. ^[1] The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed via impeachment conviction. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve as acting governor if a vacancy in the governorship occurred. Until 1978, lieutenant governors were elected separately but concurrently with the governor (not on a "ticket"). Thus, there were several occasions when the lieutenant governor was from a different party than the governor. This was changed by constitutional amendment. In 1974, Richard F. Celeste was the last lieutenant governor to be elected separately. In 1978, George Voinovich became the first lieutenant governor to be elected on the same ticket with the governor.

From 1852 to 1979, the lieutenant governor also served as the president of the Ohio State Senate. More recently, Ohio governors have generally named the lieutenant governor to head an agency of state government. An example of this is Bruce Edward Johnson, who served as Director of the Ohio Department of Development, as did his successor, Lee Fisher. Recent Lt. Governor Mary Taylor was the director of the Ohio Department of Insurance, until she was replaced by Jillian Froment in 2017.

List of lieutenant governors

Parties

   Democratic    Republican

#	Lt. Governor		Took office	Left office	Party	Notes
1		William Medill (1802–1865)	January 12, 1852	July 13, 1853	Democratic	Became governor July 13, 1853
Office vacant from July 13, 1853 – January 9, 1854
2		James Myers (1795–1864)	January 9, 1854	January 14, 1856	Democratic
3		Thomas H. Ford (1814–1868)	January 14, 1856	January 11, 1858	Republican
4		Martin Welker (1819–1902)	January 11, 1858	January 9, 1860	Republican
5		Robert C. Kirk (1821–1898)	January 9, 1860	January 13, 1862	Republican
6		Benjamin Stanton (1809–1872)	January 13, 1862	January 11, 1864	Republican
7		Charles Anderson (1814–1895)	January 11, 1864	August 29, 1865	Republican
Office vacant from August 29, 1865 – January 8, 1866
8		Andrew McBurney (1817–1894)	January 8, 1866	January 13, 1868	Republican
9		John C. Lee (1828–1891)	January 13, 1868	January 8, 1872	Republican
10		Jacob Mueller (1822–1905)	January 8, 1872	January 12, 1874	Republican
11		Alphonso Hart (1830–1910)	January 12, 1874	January 10, 1876	Republican
12		Thomas Lowry Young (1832–1888)	January 10, 1876	March 2, 1877	Republican
13		H. W. Curtiss (1824–1902)	March 2, 1877	January 14, 1878	Republican	(acting)
14		Jabez W. Fitch (1823–1884)	January 14, 1878	January 12, 1880	Democratic
15		Andrew Hickenlooper (1837–1904)	January 12, 1880	January 9, 1882	Republican
16		Rees G. Richards (1842–1917)	January 9, 1882	January 14, 1884	Republican
17		John George Warwick (1830–1892)	January 14, 1884	January 11, 1886	Democratic
18		Robert P. Kennedy (1840–1918)	January 11, 1886	March 3, 1887	Republican
19		Silas A. Conrad (1840–1913)	March 3, 1887	January 9, 1888	Republican
20		William C. Lyon (1841–1908)	January 9, 1888	January 13, 1890	Republican
21		Elbert L. Lampson (1852–1930)	January 13, 1890	January 31, 1890	Republican
22		William V. Marquis (1828–1899)	January 31, 1890	January 11, 1892	Democratic
23		Andrew L. Harris (1835–1915)	January 11, 1892	January 13, 1896	Republican
24		Asa W. Jones (1838–1918)	January 13, 1896	January 8, 1900	Republican
25		John A. Caldwell (1852–1927)	January 8, 1900	January 13, 1902	Republican
26		Carl L. Nippert (1852–1904)	January 13, 1902	May 1, 1902	Republican	resigned May 1, 1902
Office vacant from May 1 – June 26, 1902
27		Harry L. Gordon (1860–1921)	June 26, 1902	January 11, 1904	Republican
28		Warren G. Harding (1865–1923)	January 11, 1904	January 8, 1906	Republican
29		Andrew L. Harris (2nd) (1835–1915)	January 8, 1906	June 18, 1906	Republican
Office vacant from June 18, 1906 – January 11, 1909
30		Francis W. Treadway (1869–1925)	January 11, 1909	January 9, 1911	Republican
31		Atlee Pomerene (1863–1937)	January 9, 1911	March 3, 1911	Democratic
32		Hugh L. Nichols (1865–1942)	March 3, 1911	January 13, 1913	Democratic
33		W. A. Greenlund (1873–1935)	January 13, 1913	January 11, 1915	Democratic
34		John H. Arnold (1862–1944)	January 11, 1915	January 8, 1917	Republican
35		Earl D. Bloom (1871–1930)	January 8, 1917	January 12, 1919	Democratic
36		Clarence J. Brown Sr. (1893–1965)	January 12, 1919	January 8, 1923	Republican
37		Earl D. Bloom (2nd) (1871–1930)	January 8, 1923	January 12, 1925	Democratic
38		Charles H. Lewis (1871–1965)	January 12, 1925	January 10, 1927	Republican
39		Earl D. Bloom (3rd) (1871–1930)	January 10, 1927	April 1928	Democratic
40.		William G. Pickrel (1888–1966)	April 1928	November 1928	Democratic
41		George C. Braden (1868–1942)	November 1928	January 14, 1929	Republican
42		John T. Brown (1876–1951)	January 14, 1929	January 12, 1931	Republican
43		William G. Pickrel (2nd) (1888–1966)	January 12, 1931	January 9, 1933	Democratic
44		Charles W. Sawyer (1887–1979)	January 9, 1933	January 14, 1935	Democratic
45		Harold G. Mosier (1889–1971)	January 14, 1935	January 11, 1937	Democratic
46		Paul P. Yoder (1897–1965)	January 11, 1937	January 9, 1939	Democratic
47		Paul M. Herbert (1889–1983)	January 9, 1939	January 8, 1945	Republican
48		George D. Nye (1898–1969)	January 8, 1945	January 13, 1947	Democratic
49		Paul M. Herbert (2nd) (1889–1983)	January 13, 1947	January 10, 1949	Republican
50		George D. Nye (2nd) (1898–1969)	January 10, 1949	January 12, 1953	Democratic
51		John William Brown (1913–1993)	January 12, 1953	January 3, 1957	Republican
Office vacant from January 3 – 14, 1957
52		Paul M. Herbert (3rd) (1889–1983)	January 14, 1957	January 12, 1959	Republican
53		John W. Donahey (1905–1967)	January 12, 1959	January 14, 1963	Democratic
54		John William Brown (1913–1993)	January 14, 1963	January 13, 1975	Republican
55		Dick Celeste (b. 1937)	January 13, 1975	January 8, 1979	Democratic
56		George Voinovich (1936–2016)	January 8, 1979	November 1979	Republican	resigned to become Mayor of Cleveland
Office vacant from November [ ? ], 1979 – January 10, 1983
57		Myrl H. Shoemaker (1913–1985)	January 10, 1983	July 30, 1985 (Died)	Democratic	(died in office)
Office vacant from July 30, 1985 – January 12, 1987
58		Paul R. Leonard (b. 1943)	January 12, 1987	January 14, 1991	Democratic
59		Mike DeWine (b. 1947)	January 14, 1991	November 12, 1994	Republican	Resigned after being elected to U.S. Senate
Office vacant from November 12, 1994 – January 5, 1995
60		Nancy Hollister (b. 1949)	January 9, 1995	December 31, 1998	Republican	became governor December 31, 1998
Office vacant from December 31, 1998 – January 11, 1999
61		Maureen O'Connor (b. 1951)	January 11, 1999	December 31, 2002	Republican	resigned to become Supreme Court Justice
Office vacant from December 31, 2002 – January 13, 2003
62		Jennette Bradley (b. 1952)	January 13, 2003	January 5, 2005	Republican	(Appointed State Treasurer)
63		Bruce E. Johnson (b. 1960)	January 5, 2005	December 8, 2006	Republican	resigned December 8, 2006
Office vacant from December 8, 2006 – January 8, 2007
64		Lee Fisher (b. 1951)	January 8, 2007	January 10, 2011	Democratic
65		Mary Taylor (b. 1966)	January 10, 2011	January 14, 2019	Republican
66		Jon Husted (b. 1967)	January 14, 2019	January 21, 2025	Republican	resigned January 21, 2025 after being appointed to the United States Senate
Office vacant from January 21 – February 14, 2025
67		Jim Tressel (b. 1952)	February 14, 2025	present	Republican

See also

• List of Ohio lieutenant gubernatorial elections
• List of governors of Ohio
• List of United States senators from Ohio
• List of United States representatives from Ohio
• List of Ohio politicians

References

1. Husted, Jon. "Lieutenant Governors of the State of Ohio: 1852 - present". Ohio Secretary of State . Retrieved January 24, 2012.