The lieutenant governor of Nebraska is the highest-ranking executive official in the state of Nebraska after the governor. According to the Nebraska State Constitution, in the event a governor dies, becomes permanently incapacitated, resigns, or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor will become governor.
Prior to the Constitution of 1875, Nebraska had no office of lieutenant governor. If the governor died, resigned, or was removed from office (as happened to Governor David Butler in 1871), then the Nebraska Secretary of State was appointed as acting governor until the vacancy would be filled by the next election. The Constitution of 1875 created the office of Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska, leading to the first election of a lieutenant governor in Nebraska in the election of 1876.
Prior to 1962, both the governor and the lieutenant governor were elected to two-year terms, but in 1962, voters approved a constitutional amendment providing that the governor and lieutenant governor would be elected to four-year terms beginning in 1966. However, prior to 1974, the governor and the lieutenant governor ran independently and were elected on separate tickets in the general election, which is why sometimes Nebraska had a governor from one party but a lieutenant governor from another. Starting in 1974, due to a constitutional amendment, the process was changed such that the governor and lieutenant governor candidates would secure their nominations independently in the primary elections in their respective parties, but then they ran together in the general election on one ticket from the same political party. Finally, by 2002, the constitution was again amended to allow gubernatorial candidates to choose their nominee for lieutenant governor after winning their respective parties’ primary elections, which means that the lieutenant governor is no longer elected independently of the governor at any stage.
By law, the lieutenant governor presides over the Nebraska Legislature, acts as governor when the governor is out of the state or is incapacitated, and performs other duties assigned to him or her by the governor. Nebraska's lieutenant governor also serves as the director of homeland security for the state and as the chairman of the Governor's Homeland Security Policy Group. Before 1971, the office of lieutenant governor was considered a part-time position except during the biennial legislative session. When the Legislature began meeting annually, the office of lieutenant governor became a full-time position.
Legislative role As the highest-ranking presiding officer of the Nebraska Legislature, the lieutenant governor is known officially as the president of the Legislature. When presiding, the lieutenant governor may vote to break a tie in the Legislature on any matter except when the vote is on the final passage of a bill. The lieutenant governor, in the role of presiding officer, also signs all bills and resolutions passed by the Legislature. In the absence of the lieutenant governor, the speaker presides over legislative sessions.
List Parties
# Image Lieutenant Governor Term Governor(s) Served Under Election(s) Party 1 Othman A. Abbott 1877–1879 Silas Garber 1876 Republican 2 Edmund C. Carns 1879–1883 Albinus Nance 1878 1880 3 Alfred W. Agee 1883–1885 James W. Dawes 1882 4 Hibbard H. Shedd 1885–1889 1884 John Milton Thayer 1886 5 George D. Meiklejohn 1889–1891 1888 6 Thomas J. Majors 1891–1895 James E. Boyd 1890 John Milton Thayer James E. Boyd Lorenzo Crounse 1892 7 Robert E. Moore 1895–1897 Silas A. Holcomb 1894 8 James E. Harris 1897–1899 1896 Fusion (Democratic/Populist) 9 Edward A. Gilbert 1899–1901 William A. Poynter 1898 10 Ezra P. Savage 1901 Charles H. Dietrich 1900 Republican – Calvin F. Steele (Acting) 1901–1903 Ezra P. Savage 11 Edmund G. McGilton 1903–1907 John H. Mickey 1902 1904 12 Melville R. Hopewell 1907–1911 George L. Sheldon 1906 Ashton C. Shallenberger 1908 Chester H. Aldrich 1910 – John H. Morehead (Acting) 1911–1913 Democratic 13 Samuel R. McKelvie 1913–1915 John H. Morehead 1912 Republican 14 James Pearson 1915–1917 1914 Democratic 15 Edgar Howard 1917–1919 Keith Neville 1916 16 Pelham A. Barrows 1919–1923 Samuel R. McKelvie 1918 Republican 1920 17 Fred G. Johnson 1923–1925 Charles W. Bryan 1922 18 George A. Williams 1925–1931 Adam McMullen 1924 1926 Arthur J. Weaver 1928 19 Theodore W. Metcalfe 1931–1933 Charles W. Bryan 1930 20 Walter H. Jurgensen 1933–1938 1932 Democratic Robert Leroy Cochran 1934 1936 21 Nate M. Parsons 1938–1939 1938 (special) 22 William E. Johnson 1939–1943 1938 Republican Dwight Griswold 1940 23 Roy W. Johnson 1943–1947 1942 1944 24 Robert B. Crosby 1947–1949 Val Peterson 1946 25 Charles J. Warner 1949–1955 1948 1950 Robert B. Crosby 1952 Victor Anderson 1954 26 Dwight Burney 1957–1965 1956 Ralph G. Brooks 1958 Became Governor Frank B. Morrison 1960 1962 27 Philip Sorensen 1965–1967 1964 Democratic 28 John Everroad 1967–1971 Norbert Tiemann 1966 Republican 29 Frank Marsh 1971–1975 James Exon 1970 30 Gerald Whelan 1975–1979 1974 Democratic 31 Roland Luedtke 1979–1983 Charles Thone 1978 Republican 32 Donald McGinley 1983–1987 Bob Kerrey 1982 Democratic 33 William E. Nichol 1987–1991 Kay Orr 1986 Republican 34 Maxine Moul 1991–1993 Ben Nelson 1990 Democratic 35 Kim Robak 1993–1999 1994 36 David Maurstad 1999–2001 Mike Johanns 1998 Republican 37 Dave Heineman 2001–2005 2002 38 Rick Sheehy 2005–2013 Dave Heineman 2006 2010 39 Lavon Heidemann 2013–2014 40 John E. Nelson 2014–2015 41 Mike Foley 2015–2023 Pete Ricketts 2014 2018 42 Joe Kelly 2023–present Jim Pillen 2022
Notes
See also List of governors of Nebraska
References
External links Nebraska Blue Book (PDF)