| Lieutenant Governor of Florida |
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|---|---|
 Official seal |
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| Term length | 4 years, renewable once |
| Inaugural holder | William W. J. Kelly |
| Formation | December 20, 1865 |
| Website | Official Site |
The Lieutenant Governor of Florida is a constitutional statewide elected office in the U.S. State of Florida. According to the Florida Constitution, the lieutenant governor is elected to a four-year term congruent with that of the Governor of Florida.
The lieutenant governor is the second-ranking member of the executive branch of the Florida state government, succeeds to the officer of governor if the office becomes vacant, and may also serve as acting governor if the governor is incapacitated or absent from the state.
The 17th and current lieutenant governor of Florida is Jeff Kottkamp, who took office on January 2, 2007.
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Election and terms of office
To be eligible for election as lieutenant governor, a candidate must be at least 30 years old and a state resident for seven years. Lieutenant Governors serve during the respective four year terms of the Governor of Florida.
The lieutenant governor is elected on the same party ticket as the gubernatorial candidate. Although gubernatorial candidates are not required to have a running mate for the primaries, the state constitution requires a 'joint candidacy' for the general election. Statewide elections for governor, lieutenant governor and the state cabinet take place every four years (even years but not divisible by four – in order to prevent presidential elections from overshadowing state elections).
Once elected, the lieutenant governor is first in the line of succession, serving upon vacancy in the office of governor. The position of Lieutenant Governor of Florida was restored with the 1968 revision of the Florida state constitution (See Article IV, Section 2). Prior to 1968, the president of the state senate was first in the line of succession. According to the state constitution, the conditions for succession include impeachment or incapacity of the sitting governor. Incapacity is determined by state supreme court after recommendation by three cabinet members or otherwise certified by the governor with the state custodian of records (the Secretary of State of Florida).
Wayne Mixson and Buddy MacKay are two lieutenant governors who assumed the office of governor. Mixson become governor briefly when Bob Graham resigned to assume his elected seat in the U.S. Senate. MacKay completed the unfinished term of outgoing Governor Lawton Chiles after the late governor died in office.
Removal from office
The Lieutenant Governor can be impeached for committing a "misdemeanor in office" by the State Legislature, and convicted and thereby removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the State Senate.
List of Lieutenant Governors
| # | Name | Took Office | Left Office | Party | Governor(s) Served With |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William W. J. Kelly | 1865 | 1868 | Republican | David S. Walker |
| 2 | William Henry Gleason | 1868 | 1870 | Republican | Harrison Reed |
| 3 | Edmund C. Weeks | 1870 | 1870 | Republican | |
| 4 | Samuel T. Day | 1871 | 1873 | Republican[1] | |
| 5 | Marcellus Stearns | 1873 | 1874 | Republican | Ossian B. Hart |
| 6 | Noble A. Hull | 1877 | 1879 | Democrat | George Franklin Drew |
| 7 | Livingston W. Bethel | 1881 | 1885 | William D. Bloxham | |
| 8 | Milton H. Mabry | 1885 | 1889 | Edward A. Perry | |
| 9 | Ray C. Osborne | 1969 | 1971 | Republican | Claude R. Kirk, Jr. |
| 10 | Thomas Burton Adams, Jr. | 1971 | 1975 | Democrat | Reubin O'Donovan Askew |
| 11 | J.H. Williams | 1975 | 1979 | Democrat | |
| 12 | Wayne Mixson | 1979 | 1987 | Democrat | Bob Graham |
| 13 | Bobby Brantley | 1987 | 1991 | Republican | Bob Martinez |
| 14 | Buddy MacKay | 1991 | 1998 | Democrat | Lawton Chiles |
| 15 | Frank Brogan | 1999 | 2003 | Republican | Jeb Bush |
| 16 | Toni Jennings | 2003 | 2007 | Republican | |
| 17 | Jeff Kottkamp | 2007 | Republican | Charlie Crist |
See also
- Florida
- Florida Constitution
- Florida State Capitol
- List of Governors of Florida
- List of current United States Lieutenant Governors
References
- ^ The American Annual Cyclopædia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1871, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1872, p. 308, http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA308&lpg=PA308&dq=%22samuel+t+day%22&sig=G0MnxW5qwnpvsIpuLQ2dAgsMAQc&id=Kh8NAAAAYAAJ&ots=Dl_uIUkceN&output=html, retrieved 2008-05-25
External links
- Manuscript Collections of Florida Lieutenant Governors
- The Political Graveyard: Florida: Lieutenant Governors
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