Lieutenant Governor of Delaware

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The Lieutenant Governor of the State of Delaware is an elected constitutional officer, the second ranking officer of the executive branch, and the first officer in line to succeed the Governor of Delaware. The lieutenant governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality.

Current officeholder

See also: Current Lieutenant Governors

The 25th and current lieutenant governor is Matthew Denn, a Democrat elected in 2008. He took office on January 20, 2009. Denn's term will end on January 15, 2013.

Before becoming lieutenant governor, Denn served one term as Delaware's Insurance Commissioner. Before becoming commissioner, he was a practicing attorney and, from 2001 to 2003, chief legal counsel to the Governor of Delaware.

Authority

The state constitution addresses the office of the lieutenant governor in Article III, the Executive Department.

Delaware Constitution, Article III, Section 19

A Lieutenant-Governor shall be chosen at the same time, in the same manner, for the same term, and subject to the same provisions as the Governor...

Qualifications

Governors
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
2012 • 2011 • 2010 Lists of candidates
Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2012 • 2011 • 2010
Breaking news

Under Article III, Section 6 of the state constitution, the governor must be at 30 years old, a citizen of the United States for at least 12 years on the day of the election, and a resident of Delaware for at least six years on the same date.

Elections

See also: Gubernatorial election cycles by state

See also: Election of lieutenant governors

Delaware elects lieutenant governors during presidential elections, that is, in leap years. For Delaware, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 are all lieutenant gubernatorial election years. Legally, the lieutenant gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the third Tuesday in the January following an election. Thus, January 15, 2013 and January 17, 2017 are inaugural days.

In the unlikely event that two candidates receive the exact same vote tally at the general election, a joint session of the legislature shall cast ballots to choose one-third of the members of each chamber to make up a special joint committee, which will in turn cast ballots for the lieutenant governor. In the even more unlikely event that the legislature is similarly tied, the President of the Senate shall have the deciding vote (§ 4).

Although in practice the candidate for lieutenant governor is nominated as a ticket with the candidate for governor, the offices of governor and lieutenant governor are voted on separately in Delaware. In 1972 and 1984, the governor and lieutenant governor were elected from different parties.

Term limits

Delaware's lieutenant governor is subject to a lifetime limit of two terms in office.

Vacancies

Details of vacancies are addressed under Article III, Section 20.

The lieutenant governor is the lone officer of the executive who may not be removed, for cause, by the governor. If the office beocmes vacant through death, disability, or resignation, the line of succession is as follows:

• the Secretary of State

• the Attorney General

• the President Pro Tem of the Senate

• the Speaker of the House

However, none of those officers may succeed unless they meet the eligibility requirements for the lieutenant governor.

Duties

As in many other U.S. state legislatures, the lieutenant governor also serves as the President of the Delaware State Senate, though he or she can only issue a vote if there is a tie on any vote. The lieutenant governor also has a constitutionally provided seat on the Delaware Board of Pardons.

He has other responsibilities and duties as the Governor shall assign.

Compensation

See also: Comparison of lieutenant gubernatorial salaries

The lieutenant governor's pay is set by law and may not be increased or diminished effective during the current term.

In 2010, the lieutenant governor was paid $74,345 a year, the 32nd highest lieutenant gubernatorial salary in America.

Former officeholders

From 1901-2011, Delaware has had 25 lieutenant governors. 13 have been Democrats and 12 have been Republicans.

#	Name	Took office	Left office	Party
1	Phillip L. Cannon	January 15, 1901	January 17, 1905	Republican
2	Isaac Thomas Parker	January 17, 1905	January 19, 1909	Republican
3	John M. Mendinhall	January 19, 1909	January 21, 1913	Republican
4	Colen Ferguson	January 21, 1913	January 16, 1917	Democratic
5	Lewis T. Eliason	January 16, 1917	May 2, 1919	Democratic
6	J. Danford Bush	January 18, 1921	January 20, 1925	Republican
7	James Hall Anderson	January 20, 1925	January 15, 1929	Republican
8	James Henry Hazel	January 15, 1929	January 17, 1933	Republican
9	Roy F. Corley	January 17, 1933	January 19, 1937	Republican
10	Edward Webb Cooch	January 19, 1937	January 21, 1941	Democratic
11	Isaac James MacCollum	January 21, 1941	January 16, 1945	Democratic
12	Elbert Nortrand Carvel	January 16, 1945	January 18, 1949	Democratic
13	Alexis Irenee du Pont Bayard	January 18, 1949	January 20, 1953	Democratic
14	John W. Rollins, Sr.	January 20, 1953	January 15, 1957	Republican
15	David Penrose Buckson	January 15, 1957	December 30, 1960	Republican
16	Eugene Lammot	January 17, 1961	January 19, 1965	Democratic
17	Sherman Willard Tribbitt	January 19, 1965	January 21, 1969	Democratic
18	Eugene Bookhammer	January 21, 1969	January 18, 1977	Republican
19	James D. McGinnis	January 18, 1977	January 20, 1981	Democratic
20	Michael Newbold Castle	January 20, 1981	January 15, 1985	Republican
21	Shien Biau Woo	January 15, 1985	January 20, 1989	Democratic
22	Dale E. Wolf	January 20, 1989	December 31, 1992	Republican
23	Ruth Ann Minner	January 19, 1993	January 3, 2001	Democratic
24	John C. Carney	January 16, 2001	January 20, 2009	Democratic
25	Matthew Denn	January 20, 2009	Present	Democratic

Contact information

Address:
Tatnall Building
3rd Floor
Dover, DE 19901
(302) 744-4333

See also

• Matthew Denn
• Lieutenant Governor

External links

Lieutenant Governor Office website