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There were three lieutenant gubernatorial seats on the ballot in 2019. These elections were in Kentucky (on the gubernatorial ballot), Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Heading into the elections, Republicans controlled all three offices. In the elections, Republicans held the Mississippi and Louisiana lieutenant governorships while Democrats gained Kentucky's.

2019 election results

See also: Election results, 2019

Kentucky

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky

Jacqueline Coleman defeated Ralph Alvarado and Ann Cormican in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jacqueline Coleman (D)	49.2	709,890
		Ralph Alvarado (R)	48.8	704,754
	Submit photo	Ann Cormican (L)	2.0	28,433
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	46

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,443,123
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Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana

Incumbent Billy Nungesser won election outright against Willie Jones in the primary for Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana on October 12, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Billy Nungesser (R)	68.1	884,309
	Willie Jones (D)	31.9	413,556

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,297,865
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Rao Uppu (D)

Mississippi

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi

Delbert Hosemann defeated J. P. Hughes, Jr. in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi on November 5, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Delbert Hosemann (R)	60.0	524,757
	J. P. Hughes, Jr. (D)	40.0	349,627

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 874,384
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Partisan breakdown

The following chart displays the number of lieutenant governorships held by each party as of the 2019 elections and immediately after the elections took place. In the 2018 lieutenant gubernatorial elections, Democrats gained control of seven seats from Republicans, while Republicans picked up one seat from an independent and one formerly-vacant seat.

U.S. Lieutenant Governors Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2019	After the 2019 elections
	Democratic Party	20^[1]	21^[1]
	Republican Party	25	24
Total		45	45

Election information

In 45 states, the lieutenant governor is the second-highest executive office, behind the governor. Although the powers and duties of the lieutenant governor vary from state to state, lieutenant governors are responsible for filling vacancies in the office of governor. In many states, lieutenant governors often sit on boards or commissions, and they are often involved in the proceedings of the state Senate.

The process for selecting a lieutenant governor varies from state to state. In Tennessee and West Virginia, the member of the state Senate chosen to serve as its president becomes the lieutenant governor. In the other 43 states with lieutenant governors, the officeholder is elected - this election is separate from the gubernatorial election in 17 states and is held on a joint ticket in the other 26.

State	Selection method	Incumbent	Incumbent ran?	Winner	Margin of victory
Kentucky	Joint ticket	Jenean Hampton	No	Jacqueline Coleman	D+0.4
Louisiana	Separate election	Billy Nungesser	Yes	Billy Nungesser	R+36.2
Mississippi	Separate election	Tate Reeves	No (termed-out)	Delbert Hosemann	R+20.4

Historical control

In 1977, the Democratic Party held a total of 34 lieutenant governorships to the Republican Party's 10. The Democratic lead in lieutenant governorships would be maintained until the midterm elections of 1994, which gave the Republican Party control of 23 lieutenant governorships to the Democrats' 21. The midterm elections of 2006 led to the Democratic Party regaining its lead in lieutenant governorships, with 23 to the Republicans' 21. However, the Republican Party regained its lead in the 2008 elections. After that election, lieutenant governorships trended Republican until the 2018 elections, with the party reaching a high of 32 lieutenant governorships to Democrats' 13 in 2015 and 2016. In 2018, Democrats and Republicans each won 15 of the 30 seats up for election, narrowing the gap in seats but keeping the Republican lead in place.

Important dates and deadlines

This section will provide important dates throughout the 2019 election cycle, including filing deadlines, primaries, and campaign finance reporting deadlines, when available. These dates are divided by state.

Kentucky

Primary election

January 29, 2019: Filing deadline in Kentucky
April 22, 2019: Voter registration deadline
May 14, 2019: Absentee application deadline
May 21, 2019: Primary election in Kentucky

General election

October 7, 2019: Voter registration deadline
October 29, 2019: Absentee application deadline
November 5, 2019: General election in Kentucky

Louisiana

Primary election

August 8, 2019: Filing deadline in Louisiana
September 11, 2019: In-person voter registration deadline
September 21, 2019: Online voter registration deadline
September 28, 2019: Early voting begins
October 5, 2019: Early voting ends
October 8, 2019: Deadline to request a mail ballot
October 12, 2019: Primary election in Louisiana

General election

October 16, 2019: In-person voter registration deadline
October 26, 2019: Online voter registration deadline
November 2, 2019: Early voting begins
November 9, 2019: Early voting ends
November 12, 2019: Deadline to request a mail ballot
November 16, 2019: General election in Louisiana

Mississippi

Primary election

March 1, 2019: Filing deadline in Mississippi
July 8, 2019: Voter registration deadline (primary)
July 29, 2019: Voter registration deadline (primary runoff)
August 5, 2019: Absentee ballot return deadline (primary)
August 6, 2019: Primary election in Mississippi
August 26, 2019: Absentee ballot return deadline (primary runoff)
August 27, 2019: Primary runoff election in Mississippi

General election

October 7, 2019: Voter registration deadline
November 4, 2019: Absentee ballot return deadline
November 5, 2019: General election in Mississippi

About the office

See also: Lieutenant Governor (state executive office)

Selection process

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	State Executive Officials
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	Select a position:GubernatorialLieutenant gubernatorialAttorney GeneralSecretary of StateState executive officialSelect year:2025202420232022202120202019201820172016201520142013201220112010Reset

In 26 states, the lieutenant governor is selected on a ticket with the governor, meaning that lieutenant gubernatorial candidates serve as running mates to gubernatorial candidates, with the winning gubernatorial candidate's running mate becoming lieutenant governor. In eight of these states, there are separate primaries for governor and lieutenant governor, with the winning candidate in each primary appearing on the general election ticket. In the remaining 18 states, gubernatorial candidates may pick their own running mates in a similar fashion to presidential candidates. In 17 states, the lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor. In Tennessee and West Virginia, the title of lieutenant governor is given to the president of the state Senate.^[2]

Lt. gov. nominated in separate primary and elected in separate general election (17): Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington
Lt. gov. nominated in separate primary but runs on a single ticket with gubernatorial nominee in general election (7): Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin
Lt. gov. chosen by gubernatorial candidate before primary and runs on a single ticket with gubernatorial candidate in both the primary and general election (9): Alaska, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah
Lt. gov. chosen by gubernatorial nominee after primary and runs on a single ticket with gubernatorial nominee in the general election (10): Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Carolina, South Dakota
Lt. gov. is a member of the legislature (2): Tennessee, West Virginia
Lt. gov. office does not exist in state (5): Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, Wyoming

Partisan affiliation

There are currently a total of 30 Republican lieutenant governors and 14 Democratic lieutenant governors, including David Zuckerman of Vermont, whose primary affiliation is with the Vermont Progressive Party. The position of lieutenant governor of Alabama is vacant following Kay Ivey's (R) promotion to the governorship in April 2017.

Compensation

According to compensation figures for 2017 compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States, the highest salary for a lieutenant governor is $162,673 in Pennsylvania while the lowest is $9,612 in Texas. To view the compensation of a specific lieutenant governor, hover your mouse over the state.^[3]

Legislative powers

In 27 states, the lieutenant governor is involved with the legislative process as the presiding officer of the state Senate. In 24 of those states, the lieutenant governor also has the power to cast a tiebreaking vote in the Senate, although some states limit this ability to votes on specific issues.^[4]

Gubernatorial delegation

In 24 states, the governor may formally transfer a portion of their power to the lieutenant governor.^[4]

Acting governor

In 29 states, the lieutenant governor serves as acting governor while the governor is out of the state; three of these states place limits on this role.^[4]

Term limits

To view term limits for a particular state, hover your mouse over that state.

Analysis of state elections

See also: Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2019

In 2019, eight states held elections for executive, legislative, or judicial seats, including elections for seven of the nation's 99 state legislative chambers and for three gubernatorial seats.

All state elections:

2019 election analysis: State government trifectas

Trifecta vulnerability in the 2019 elections

2019 primary election competitiveness in state government

Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024

State executive elections:

State executive official elections, 2019

Gubernatorial elections, 2019

Secretary of State elections, 2019

Attorney General elections, 2019

2019 election analysis: State government triplexes

State executive official elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate, 2019