# Lieutenant Governor of Texas

The lieutenant governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the Legislative Budget Board.
Under the provisions of the Texas Constitution, the lieutenant governor is president of the Texas Senate. Unlike with most other states' senates and the U.S. Senate, the lieutenant governor regularly presides over the chamber rather than delegating this function to the president pro tempore or a majority leader. By the rules of the Senate, the lieutenant governor establishes all special and standing committees, appoints all chairpersons and members, and assigns all Senate legislation to the committee of his choice. The lieutenant governor decides all questions of parliamentary procedure in the Senate. The lieutenant governor also has broad discretion in following Senate procedural rules.
The lieutenant governor is an ex officio member of several statutory bodies, including the Legislative Budget Board, the Legislative Council, and the Legislative Audit Committee, which have considerable sway over state programs, the budget and policy. The lieutenant governor is also a member of the Legislative Redistricting Board (together with the speaker of the House, attorney general, comptroller, and land commissioner), which is charged with adopting a redistricting plan for the Texas House of Representatives, Texas Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives after the decennial census if the Legislature fails to do so.
In the case of a vacancy in the lieutenant governor's office, the Senate elects one of its members to act as President of the Senate until the next statewide office election, in effect becoming the lieutenant governor. A senator elected as presiding officer in this way retains their district seat and the voting privileges entailed with his Senate election. The lieutenant governor is sworn in on the third Tuesday every four years, the same as the governor.
Dan Patrick has been the lieutenant governor of Texas since January 20, 2015.
The term of office was two years from 1846 to 1972. Voters then increased it to four years, effective for the 1974 election.
The lieutenant governor assumes the powers of the governor of Texas when the governor is out of the state or otherwise unable to discharge the office. The lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor, rather than on the same ticket; it is therefore possible for the governor and lieutenant governor to be from different political parties (which was the case during Governor George W. Bush's first term and also during Bill Clements's two non-consecutive terms). The lieutenant governor becomes the governor if the elected governor resigns, dies or is removed from office via impeachment and conviction. Former governor Rick Perry took office upon George W. Bush's resignation on December 21, 2000, ahead of Bush becoming U.S. president. When Perry became lieutenant governor on January 19, 1999, he became the first Republican since Albert Jennings Fountain in 1873 to serve as lieutenant governor, and the first Republican to be elected as lieutenant governor since James W. Flanagan in 1869.

## Compared to other lieutenant governors

Texas is one of the few states that vests significant power in the office of lieutenant governor, making it among the most influential. By contrast, the lieutenant governor position in other states has few (if any) legislative responsibilities, akin to the vice president of the United States.

## List of lieutenant governors of Texas

Legend:  Democratic (38)  Republican (4)
List of lieutenant governors of Texas :
| No. | Image | Lieutenant Governor | Lieutenant Governor | Party | Term in office | Governor |
| 1 | | | Albert Clinton Horton | Democratic | May 2, 1846 – December 21, 1847 | James Pinckney Henderson |
| 2 | | | John Alexander Greer | Democratic | December 21, 1847 – December 22, 1851 | George Tyler Wood Peter Hansborough Bell |
| 3 | | | James W. Henderson | Democratic | December 22, 1851 – November 23, 1853 | Peter Hansborough Bell |
| 4 | | | David Catchings Dickson | Democratic | December 21, 1853 – December 21, 1855 | Elisha M. Pease |
| 5 | | | Hardin Richard Runnels | Democratic | December 21, 1855 – December 21, 1857 | Elisha M. Pease |
| 6 | | | Francis Lubbock | Democratic | December 21, 1857 – December 21, 1859 | Hardin Richard Runnels |
| 7 | | | Edward Clark | Democratic | December 21, 1859 – March 16, 1861 | Sam Houston |
| 8 | | | John McClannahan Crockett | Democratic | November 7, 1861 – November 5, 1863 | Francis Lubbock |
| 9 | | | Fletcher Stockdale | Democratic | November 5, 1863 – June 17, 1865 | Pendleton Murrah |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | June 17, 1865 – August 9, 1866 | Fletcher Stockdale Andrew Jackson Hamilton |
| 10 | | | George Washington Jones | Democratic | August 9, 1866 – July 30, 1867 | James W. Throckmorton |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | July 30, 1867 – January 8, 1870 | Elisha M. Pease |
| — | | | James W. Flanagan | Republican | January 8, 1870 – February 24, 1870 | Edmund J. Davis |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | February 24, 1870 – January 15, 1874 | Edmund J. Davis |
| 11 | | | Richard B. Hubbard | Democratic | January 15, 1874 – December 1, 1876 | Richard Coke |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | December 1, 1876 – January 21, 1879 | Richard B. Hubbard |
| 12 | | | Joseph Draper Sayers | Democratic | January 21, 1879 – January 18, 1881 | Oran Milo Roberts |
| 13 | | | Leonidas Jefferson Storey | Democratic | January 18, 1881 – January 16, 1883 | Oran Milo Roberts |
| 14 | | | Francis Marion Martin | Democratic | January 16, 1883 – January 20, 1885 | John Ireland |
| 15 | | | Barnett Gibbs | Democratic | January 20, 1885 – January 19, 1887 | John Ireland |
| 16 | | | Thomas Benton Wheeler | Democratic | January 19, 1887 – January 21, 1891 | Lawrence Sullivan Ross |
| 17 | | | George C. Pendleton | Democratic | January 21, 1891 – January 17, 1893 | Jim Hogg |
| 18 | | | Martin McNulty Crane | Democratic | January 17, 1893 – January 15, 1895 | Jim Hogg |
| 19 | | | George Taylor Jester | Democratic | January 15, 1895 – January 17, 1899 | Charles Allen Culberson |
| 20 | | | James Browning | Democratic | January 17, 1899 – January 20, 1903 | Joseph D. Sayers |
| 21 | | | George D. Neal | Democratic | January 20, 1903 – January 15, 1907 | S. W. T. Lanham |
| 22 | | | Asbury Bascom Davidson | Democratic | January 15, 1907 – January 21, 1913 | Thomas Mitchell Campbell Oscar Branch Colquitt |
| 23 | | | William Harding Mayes | Democratic | January 21, 1913 – August 14, 1914 | Oscar Branch Colquitt |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | August 14, 1914 – January 19, 1915 | Oscar Branch Colquitt |
| 24 | | | William P. Hobby Sr. | Democratic | January 19, 1915 – August 25, 1917 | James E. Ferguson |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | August 25, 1917 – January 21, 1919 | William P. Hobby |
| 25 | | | Willard Arnold Johnson | Democratic | January 21, 1919 – January 18, 1921 | William P. Hobby |
| 26 | | | Lynch Davidson | Democratic | January 18, 1921 – January 16, 1923 | Pat Morris Neff |
| 27 | | | Thomas Whitfield Davidson | Democratic | January 16, 1923 – January 20, 1925 | Pat Morris Neff |
| 28 | | | Barry Miller | Democratic | January 20, 1925 – January 20, 1931 | Miriam A. Ferguson Dan Moody |
| 29 | | | Edgar E. Witt | Democratic | January 20, 1931 – January 15, 1935 | Ross S. Sterling Miriam A. Ferguson |
| 30 | | | Walter Frank Woodul | Democratic | January 15, 1935 – January 17, 1939 | James V. Allred |
| 31 | | | Coke R. Stevenson | Democratic | January 17, 1939 – August 4, 1941 | W. Lee O'Daniel |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | August 4, 1941 – January 19, 1943 | Coke R. Stevenson |
| 32 | | | John Lee Smith | Democratic | January 19, 1943 – January 21, 1947 | Coke R. Stevenson Beauford H. Jester |
| 33 | | | Allan Shivers | Democratic | January 21, 1947 – July 11, 1949 | Beauford H. Jester |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | July 11, 1949 – January 16, 1951 | Allan Shivers |
| 34 | | | Ben Ramsey | Democratic | January 16, 1951 – September 18, 1961 | Allan Shivers Price Daniel |
| — | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | Vacant | September 18, 1961 – January 15, 1963 | Price Daniel |
| 35 | | | Preston Smith | Democratic | January 15, 1963 – January 21, 1969 | John Connally |
| 36 | | | Ben Barnes | Democratic | January 21, 1969 – January 16, 1973 | Preston Smith |
| 37 | | | William P. Hobby Jr. | Democratic | January 16, 1973 – January 15, 1991 | Dolph Briscoe (Democratic) Bill Clements (Republican) Mark White (Democratic) Bill Clements (Republican) |
| 38 | | | Bob Bullock | Democratic | January 15, 1991 – January 19, 1999 | Ann Richards (Democratic) George W. Bush (Republican) |
| 39 | | | Rick Perry | Republican | January 19, 1999 – December 21, 2000 | George W. Bush |
| 40 | | | Bill Ratliff | Republican | December 28, 2000 – January 21, 2003 | Rick Perry |
| 41 | | | David Dewhurst | Republican | January 21, 2003 – January 20, 2015 | Rick Perry |
| 42 | | | Dan Patrick | Republican | January 20, 2015 – Incumbent | Greg Abbott |