Lieutenant Governor of Florida Information & Lieutenant Governor of Florida Links at HealthHaven.com

Lieutenant Governor of Florida;
	; Official seal
	Incumbent; Jeff Kottkamp; since January 2, 2007
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.

ieutenant 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.

[edit] List of Lieutenant Governors

William W. J. Kelly, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Florida (1865-1868)

Kenneth Hood "Buddy" MacKay, Jr., 14th Lieutenant Governor of Florida (1991-1998)

#	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	Reubin O'Donovan Askew
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	Jeb Bush
17	Jeff Kottkamp	2007		Republican	Charlie Crist

[edit] See also

[edit] 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

[edit] External links

[0] 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

[1]

Contents

[edit] Removal from office

[edit] List of Lieutenant Governors

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links