Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee

Last updated
Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee
Speaker of the Tennessee Senate
Seal of Tennessee.svg
Sen. Randy McNally (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Randy McNally
since January 10, 2017
Status Presiding officer
Member of Tennessee Senate
AppointerTennessee Senate
Constituting instrument Tennessee Constitution
FormationFebruary 23, 1870;154 years ago (1870-02-23)
First holder Dorsey B. Thomas
Succession First
Salary$72,948 (2022) [1]
Website Government website

The Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate of Tennessee is the presiding officer of the Tennessee Senate and first in line in the succession to the office of governor of Tennessee in the event of the death, resignation, or removal from office through impeachment and conviction of the governor of Tennessee.

Contents

The current lieutenant governor is Randy McNally, who was elected to the post on January 10, 2017, and is the second (consecutive) Republican to hold the post since Reconstruction. He succeeded Ron Ramsey, who held the post continuously from 2007 to 2017.

Under the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the speaker of the Senate is elected by the Tennessee State Senate from among its members. The lieutenant governor as a member of the Tennessee Senate has a four-year term as a senator but is subject to re-election by his peers with each new legislature; as the senators' terms are staggered by class and there could be a 50 percent turnover in membership between one legislature and the next.

Compensation

The job is in theory a part-time one, paying $72,948 per year; the lieutenant governor is a member of the Tennessee General Assembly (the base pay for which is $24,316 per year), which is a legislature limited to 15 organizational days and 90 legislative days with full pay and expenses in each two-year sitting.

Line of succession

Since Tennessee became a state in 1796, four speakers of the Senate have succeeded to the governorship:

Under the Tennessee Constitution, in the event of succession the Speaker does not become "acting governor" or "interim governor," but assumes the title and full powers of the governorship, much as the vice president of the United States becomes president upon the death, resignation or removal from office of the president. An important distinction is that if the speaker becomes governor during the first 18 months of the governor's four-year term, a special election for the balance of the term will be held at the next U.S. general election. If the speaker becomes governor after the first 18 months of the term, the speaker will serve the entire remainder of the term. In either case, any partial term counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms. For example, if the current speaker, Randy McNally, had ascended to the governorship during the second term of Bill Haslam, he would have been eligible to run for a full term in 2018, but would have had to leave office in 2023. However, this provision has not been put into practice since the gubernatorial term was extended to four years in 1953.

The title of lieutenant governor is granted to the speaker by statutory law enacted in 1951 in recognition of the fact that the speaker is the governor's designated successor; such has been the case since the adoption of the first state constitution and Tennessee statehood in 1796.

List of officeholders

Before 1870

President of the Council of the Southwest Territory [2]
PresidentTermPartyLifeNotes
Griffith Rutherford 1794–17961721–1805The council dissolved upon the territory's admission as a state
Speakers of the Tennessee Senate, 1796–1869 [3]
ImageNameTermPartyLifeNotes
James-winchester-by-earl.jpg James Winchester 1796–17971752–1826
James White 1797–17981747–1821
William-blount-wb-cooper.jpg William Blount 1798–1799 Democratic-Republican 1749–1800
Alexander Outlaw 1799–18011738–1826
James White 1801–18051747–1821
McMinn-joseph-by-rembrandt-peale.jpg Joseph McMinn 1805–1811 Democratic-Republican 1758–1824
Thomas Henderson1811–1813 Democratic-Republican 1742 –1832
RobertcolemanFoster.jpg Robert Coleman Foster 1813–1815 Whig 1769–1844
Edward Ward1815–1819d. 1837
Robert-weakley-tennessee.jpg Robert Weakley 1819–1821Democratic-Republican1764–1845
Sterling Brewer1821–18231766–1852
Robert-weakley-tennessee.jpg Robert Weakley 1823–1825Democratic-Republican1764–1845
Robert C. Foster1825–1827Whig1796–1871
Hall-william-by-wb-cooper.jpg William Hall 1827–1829Democratic1775–1856Became governor upon the resignation of Sam Houston
Joel Walker1829–1831Whig1789–1844
Burchet Douglas1831–1833Whig1793–1849
David Burford1833–1835Democratic1791–1864
Jonathan Webster1835–1837Whig1779–1849
Terry H. Cahal1837–1839Whig1802–1851
Thomas Love1839Democratic1766–1844
Levin H. Coe1839–1841Democratic1807–1850
Samuel Turney1841–1843Democraticc. 1795–1863
Josiah M. Anderson 1843–1845Whig1807–1861
Harvey M. Watterson 1845–1847Democratic1811–1891
Josiah M. Anderson 1847–1849Whig1807–1861
John F. Henry1849–1851Whig1808–1884
Munson R. Hill 1851–1853Whig1821–1867
Edwin Polk1853–1855Democratic1818–1854
Edward S. Cheatham 1855–1857Whig1818–1878
John C. Burch1857–1859Democratic1827–1881
Tazewell W. Newman1859–1861Democratic1827–1867
Burton L. Stovall1861Democratic1812–1879
Edward S. Cheatham 1861–1862Whig1818–1878The state government was replaced by a military government in 1862
Samuel R. Rodgers 1865Unionist1798–1866
Joshua B. Frierson1865–1867Unionist1806–1876
Dewitt-clinton-senter-tn1.png Dewitt Clinton Senter 1867–1869 Republican 1830–1898Became governor upon the resignation of William G. Brownlow
Philip P.C. Nelson1869Republican1828–1880

1870–present

The following is a list of people who have served as Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee (formal title: Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate) since the current Tennessee State Constitution was adopted in 1870. The title of Lieutenant Governor was formally added in 1951; however, the speaker of the Senate has been the designated successor to the governor of Tennessee since Tennessee achieved statehood in 1796. Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey (who served 20072017) was the first Republican to hold this office since the adoption of the current constitution, all previous ones having been Democrats.

Parties

   Democratic    Republican

Lieutenant governors of the State of Tennessee
No.ImageNameTermPartyGovernor(s) served underLife
1 Dorsey B. Thomas 1869–1871 Democratic None1823–1897
2 Gen. John Crawford Vaughn.jpg John C. Vaughn 1871–1873Democratic1824–1875
3A. T. Lacey1873–1875Democratic1821–1878
4Thomas H. Paine1875–1877Democratic1836–1903
5Hugh M. McAdoo1877–1879Democratic1838–1894
6 John R. Neal (Tennessee Congressman) (3x4).jpg John R. Neal 1879–1881Democratic1836–1889
7George H. Morgan1881–1883Democratic1841–1900
8Benjamin F. Alexander1883–1885Democratic1849–1911
9 Cabell R. Berry 1885–1887Democratic1848–1910
10Z. W. Ewing1887–1889Democratic1843–1909
11Benjamin J. Lea1889–1891Democratic1833–1894
12William C. Dismukes1891–1895Democratic1850–1903
13Ernest Pillow1895–1897Democratic1856–1904
14John Thompson1897–1899Democratic1852–1919
15Seid Waddell1899–1901Democratic1849–1921
16Newton H. White1901–1903Democratic1860–1931
17 Edward T. Seay 1903–1905Democratic1868-1941
18 Cox-john-isaac-governor-tn.jpg John I. Cox [lower-alpha 1] 1905Democratic1855–1946
19Ernest Rice1905–1907Democratic1872-1950
20E. G. Tollett1907–1909Democratic1864–1926
21William Kinney1909–1911Democratic1863–1928
22Nathaniel Baxter, Jr.1911–1913Democratic1844–1913
23Newton H. White1913–1915Democratic1860–1931
24 Hugh C. Anderson 1915Democratic1851–1915
25 Albert E. Hill 1915–1917Democratic1870–1933
26W. R. Crabtree1917–1919Democratic1867–1920
27 Andrew L. Todd Sr. 1919–1921Democratic1872–1945
28 WmWBond.png William West Bond 1921–1923Democratic1884–1975
29Eugene J. Bryan1923–1925Democratic1888–1958
30Lucius D. Hill1925–1927Democratic1856–1933
31 Henry Hollis Horton.jpg Henry Hollis Horton [lower-alpha 2] 1927Democratic1866–1934
32Sam R. Bratton1929–1931Democratic1864–1936
33Scott Fitzhugh1931Democratic1888–1956
34 Ambrose B. Broadbent 1931–1933Democratic1885–1952
35Albert F. Officer1933–1935Democratic1899–1965
36 William P. Moss 1935–1936Democratic1897–1985
37Bryan Pope1936–1939Democratic1893–1973
38Blan R. Maxwell1939–1943Democratic1899–1943
39Joseph H. Ballew1943–1945Democratic1886–1972
40Larry Morgan1945–1947Democratic1896–1965
41George Oliver Benton1947–1949Democratic1915–2001
42Walter M. Haynes1949–1953Democratic Gordon Browning 1897–1967
43 Jared Maddux.png Jared Maddux 1953–1959Democratic Frank G. Clement 1912–1971
44William D. Baird1959–1962Democratic Buford Ellington 1906–1987
45 James L Bomar.jpg James L. Bomar Jr. 1963–1965Democratic Frank G. Clement 1914–2001
46 Jared Maddux.png Jared Maddux1965–1967Democratic Frank G. Clement 1912–1971
47 Frank Gorrell 1967–1971Democratic Buford Ellington 1927–1994
48 John S. Wilder 1971–2007Democratic Winfield Dunn, Ray Blanton, Lamar Alexander, Ned McWherter, Don Sundquist, Phil Bredesen 1921–2010
49 Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey (cropped).jpg Ron Ramsey 2007–2017Republican Phil Bredesen, Bill Haslam b. 1955
50 Sen. Randy McNally (cropped).jpg Randy McNally 2017–presentRepublican Bill Haslam, Bill Lee b. 1944
  1. John I. Cox became governor of Tennessee on March 21, 1905, when Governor James B. Frazier arranged his own appointment to a vacant United States Senate seat and then resigned as governor.
  2. Henry H. Horton became governor of Tennessee on October 3, 1927, upon the death of Governor Austin Peay. The legislature at the time met on a biennial basis, so the position of Speaker of the Senate remained vacant until January 1929. During this period, the designated successor to the governor was Selden Maiden, Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives.

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References

  1. "Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2022 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries" . Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  2. The five-man council was the upper chamber of the territorial legislature. Its members were appointed by the President of the United States, and the council president was elected by the five members. The council president was not the first in line of succession (this role fell to the Territorial Secretary).
  3. Historical Constitutional Officers of Tennessee, 1796 - Present, Territory South of the River Ohio, 1790 - 1796. Retrieved: 29 November 2012.