Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin

Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$80,684
2025 FY Budget:	$498,200
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Wisconsin Constitution, Article V, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin Sara Rodriguez Democratic Party Assumed office: January 2, 2023
Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
Other Wisconsin Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin is an elected constitutional officer, the second ranking officer of the executive branch and the first officer in line to succeed the Governor of Wisconsin. The lieutenant governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and has no term limit.

Current officer

See also: Current Lieutenant Governors

The 46th and current lieutenant governor is Sara Rodriguez (D), who was first elected in 2022.

Authority

The Wisconsin Constitution establishes the office of lieutenant governor in Article V, the Executive Department.

Under Article V, Section I:

Qualifications

State Executives
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
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Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014

In order to be eligible for the office of lieutenant governor, a candidate must be:^[1]

• a citizen of the United States
• a qualified elector of Wisconsin

Additionally general requirements to hold office in Wisconsin stipulate that no candidate may:^[1]

• hold any office, honor or profit under any foreign power
• hold any federal office
• be a convicted felon
• be convicted of any misdemeanor involving a violation of the public trust

Elections

Wisconsin state government organizational chart

See also: Gubernatorial election cycles by state

See also: Election of lieutenant governors

Wisconsin elects lieutenant governors in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not presidential election years (e.g. 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030). Legally, the lieutenant gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the first Monday in the January following an election.

By law, lieutenant governors are elected on a shared ticket with the gubernatorial candidate in both the primary and the general election.

In the event that there is a tie between two candidates, the members of the state legislature vote between the two during the next session.

2022

See also: Wisconsin gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin

Sara Rodriguez defeated Roger Roth in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sara Rodriguez (D)	51.7	1,358,774
		Roger Roth (R)	48.3	1,268,535

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,627,309
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin

Sara Rodriguez defeated Peng Her and Angela Kennedy in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on August 9, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sara Rodriguez	76.4	354,260
		Peng Her	23.5	108,766
		Angela Kennedy (Write-in)	0.0	39
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	589

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 463,654
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Lena Taylor (D)
• David Bowen (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on August 9, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Roger Roth	30.1	178,972
		Patrick Testin	18.4	109,374
		Cindy Werner	13.6	80,953
		Jonathan Wichmann	13.3	79,166
		Will Martin	9.2	54,790
		Kyle Yudes	5.4	32,051
		David Varnam	5.1	30,640
		David King	4.6	27,443
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	1,612

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 595,001
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ben Voelkel (R)

2018

See also: Wisconsin gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin

Mandela Barnes defeated incumbent Rebecca Kleefisch, Patrick Baird, Wil Losch, and Tiffany Anderson in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mandela Barnes (D)	49.6	1,324,307
		Rebecca Kleefisch (R)	48.5	1,295,080
		Patrick Baird (L)	0.8	20,225
		Wil Losch (Independent)	0.7	18,884
		Tiffany Anderson (G)	0.4	11,087
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	980

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,670,563
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin

Mandela Barnes defeated Kurt Kober in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mandela Barnes	68.0	326,855
		Kurt Kober	32.0	153,994

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 480,849
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Corban Gehler (D)
• William Davis III (D)
• Robert Louis Slamka (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin

Incumbent Rebecca Kleefisch advanced from the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rebecca Kleefisch	100.0	407,420

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 407,420
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Green primary election

Green primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin

Tiffany Anderson advanced from the Green primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tiffany Anderson	100.0	793

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 793
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin

Patrick Baird advanced from the Libertarian primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patrick Baird	100.0	1,636

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,636
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Full history

2014

See also: Wisconsin Lieutenant Gubernatorial election, 2014

Republican incumbent Rebecca Kleefisch won re-election on November 4, 2014.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Scott Walker/Rebecca Kleefisch Incumbent	52.3%	1,259,706
	Democrat	Mary Burke/John Lehman	46.6%	1,122,913
	Libertarian	Robert Burke/Joseph Brost	0.8%	18,720
	Independent	Dennis Fehr	0.3%	7,530
	Nonpartisan	Scattering	0.1%	1,248
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0%	200
Total Votes				2,410,317
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board

To view the electoral history dating back to 2002 for the office of Governor/Lt. Governor of Wisconsin, click [show] to expand the section.

Wisconsin elects its governors and lieutenant governors on the same ticket. 2012 See also: Rebecca Kleefisch recall, Wisconsin (2012) Rebecca Kleefisch defeated Mahlon Mitchell (D) in a recall election on June 5, 2012. She was unopposed in the primary on May 8. While governors and lieutenant governors normally run on a joint ticket in Wisconsin, there is a separate set of rules for a recall. Each official must be recalled separately and face a separate recall election. Recall of Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Rebecca Kleefisch Incumbent 52.9% 1,301,739      Democratic Mahlon Mitchell 47% 1,156,520      Scattering - 0.1% 3,077 Total Votes 2,461,336 Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board 2010 On November 2, 2010, Scott Walker/Rebecca Kleefisch won election to the office of Wisconsin Governor/Lt. Governor. They defeated Tom Barrett/Tom Nelson (D) and six minor-party tickets in the general election. Wisconsin Governor/Lt. Governor, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Scott Walker/Rebecca Kleefisch 52.2% 1,128,941      Democratic Tom Barrett/Tom Nelson 46.5% 1,004,303      Independent Jim Langer/No candidate 0.5% 10,608      Libertarian No candidate/Terry Virgil 0.3% 6,790      Common Sense James James/No candidate 0.4% 8,273      Independent Leslie Ervin Smetak/David Myron Smetak 0% 19      Independent Patricia Messici/No candidate 0% 22      Independent Hari Trivedi/No candidate 0% 18      Scattering Various 0.1% 1,858 Total Votes 2,160,832 Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. 2006 On November 7, 2006, Jim Doyle/Barbara C. Lawton won re-election to the office of Wisconsin Governor/Lt. Governor. They defeated Mark Green/Jean Hundertmark (R) and Nelson Eisman/Leon Todd (G) in the general election. Wisconsin Governor/Lt. Governor, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Jim Doyle/Barbara C. Lawton Incumbent 52.7% 1,139,115      Republican Mark Green/Jean Hundertmark 45.3% 979,427      Green Nelson Eisman/Leon Todd 1.9% 40,709      Scattering Various 0.1% 2,449 Total Votes 2,161,700 Election results via Wisconsin State Elections Board. 2002 On November 5, 2002, Jim Doyle/Barbara C. Lawton won election to the office of Wisconsin Governor/Lt. Governor. They defeated Scott McCallum/M.A. Farrow (D) and six minor-party tickets in the general election. Wisconsin Governor/Lt. Governor, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Jim Doyle/Barbara C. Lawton 46.1% 800,515      Republican Scott McCallum/M.A. Farrow Incumbent 42.3% 734,779      Green Jim Young/Jeff Peterson 0.3% 4,411      Libertarian Ed Thompson/M. Reynolds 10.7% 185,455      Independent Alan D. Eisenberg 0.2% 2,847      Independent Ty A. Bollerud 0.2% 2,637      Independent Mike Mangan 0.1% 1,710      Independent Aneb Jah Rasta 0.1% 929      Scattering Various 0.1% 2,366 Total Votes 1,735,649 Election results via Wisconsin State Election Board.

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

There is no limit to the number of terms a lieutenant governor may hold.

Vacancies

Details of vacancies are addressed under Article V, Sections 7 and 8.

If the lieutenant governor becomes governor, the new governor nominations a new lieutenant governor. The nominee must be confirmed by the Wisconsin State Senate and the Wisconsin State Assembly.

If the lieutenant governor is unable to continue serving or is removed, dies, or resigns, the governor nominates a replacement, subject to confirmation by the Wisconsin State Senate and the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Duties

The lieutenant governor becomes the governor upon the death, resignation, or removal of the governor. The lieutenant governor also become acting governor upon the absence, illness, or inability to serve of the elected governor.

Previously, the lieutenant governor was the president of the senate and could cast a tie breaking vote; however, following the passage of Wisconsin Question 3 on April 3, 1979, the president of the senate became a position elected by members of the Wisconsin State Senate.^[2]

Divisions

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for information that describes the divisions (if any exist) of a state executive office. That information for the Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin has not yet been added. After extensive research we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

State budget

See also: Wisconsin state budget and finances

The budget for the Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor's Office in Fiscal Year 2025 was $498,200.^[3]

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers and Comparison of lieutenant gubernatorial salaries

See statutes: Chapter 20, Section 923 of the Wisconsin Statutes

The lietuenant governor's annual salary is fixed by law, pursuant to Article IV, Section 26 of the Wisconsin Constitution, which states that "the compensation of a public officer may not be increased or diminished during the term of office."

Since the 2003 approval of Wisconsin Act 33, the lieutenant governor's compensation has been set by the Wisconsin Office of State Employment Relations (OSER), in accordance with Section 20.923 of the Wisconsin Statutes.^[4] Under the amended version of §20.923, the director of OSER submits biennial proposals for adjustments to compensation plan to the Wisconsin Legislature. Changes are subject to approval by the legislature's joint committee on employment relations and, if passed by the committee, the governor.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $80,684, according to the Council of State Governments.^[5]

2021

In 2021, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $80,684, according to the Council of State Governments.^[6]

2020

In 2020, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $80,684 according to the Council of State Governments.^[1]

2019

In 2019, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $80,684 according to the Council of State Governments.^[7]

2018

In 2018, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $77,795 according to the Council of State Governments.^[8]

2017

In 2017, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $77,795 according to the Council of State Governments.^[9]

2016

In 2016, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $77,795 according to the Council of State Governments.^[10]

2015

In 2015, the lieutenant governor’s salary was increased to $77,795 according to the Council of State Governments.^[11]

2014

In 2014, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $76,261 according to the Council of State Governments.^[12]

2013

In 2013, the lieutenant governor received a salary of $76,261.^[13]

2012

In 2012, the lieutenant governor was paid an estimated $76,261. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

There have been 46 lieutenant governors of Wisconsin since 1848. Of the 46 officeholders, 29 were Republicans, 15 were Democrats, and two were Progressives.^[14]

List of officeholders from 1848-Present
#	Name	Tenure	Party
1	John E. Holmes	1848-1850	Democratic
2	Samuel W. Beall	1850-1852	Democratic
3	Timothy Burns	1852-1854	Democratic
4	James T. Lewis	1854-1856	Republican
5	Arthur McArthur	1856-1858	Democratic
6	Erasmus D. Campbell	1858-1860	Democratic
7	Butler G. Noble	1860-1862	Republican
8	Edward Salomon	1862-1864	Republican
9	Wyman Spooner	1864-1870	Republican
10	Thaddeus C. Pound	1870-1872	Republican
11	Milton H. Pettit	1872-1873	Republican
12	Charles D. Parker	1874-1878	Democratic
13	James M. Bingham	1878-1882	Republican
14	Sam S. Fifield	1882-1887	Republican
15	George W. Ryland	1887-1891	Republican
16	Charles Jonas	1891-1895	Democratic
17	Emil Baensch	1895-1899	Republican
18	Jesse Stone	1899-1903	Republican
19	James O. Davidson	1903-1907	Republican
20	William D. Connor	1907-1909	Republican
21	John Strange	1909-1911	Republican
22	Thomas Morris	1911-1915	Republican
23	Edward F. Dithmar	1915-1921	Republican
24	George F. Comings	1921-1925	Republican
25	Henry A. Huber	1925-1933	Republican
26	Thomas J. O’Malley	1933-1937	Democratic
27	Henry A. Gunderson	1937	Progressive
28	Herman L. Ekern	1938-1939	Progressive
29	Walter S. Goodland	1939-1945	Republican
30	Oscar Rennebohm	1945-1949	Republican
31	George M. Smith	1949-1955	Republican
32	Warren P. Knowles	1955-1959	Republican
33	Philleo Nash	1959-1961	Democratic
34	Warren P. Knowles	1961-1963	Republican
35	Jack Olson	1963-1965	Republican
36	Patrick J. Lucey	1965-1967	Democratic
37	Jack Olson	1967-1971	Republican
38	Martin J. Schreiber	1971-1979	Democratic
39	Russell A. Olson	1979-1983	Republican
40	James T. Flynn	1983-1987	Democratic
41	Scott McCallum	1987-2001	Republican
42	Margaret A. Farrow	2001-2003	Republican
43	Barbara Lawton	2003-2011	Democratic
44	Rebecca Kleefisch	2011-2019	Republican
45	Mandela Barnes	2019-2023	Democratic
46	Sara Rodriguez	2023-present	Democratic

State profile

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Wisconsin

Wisconsin voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, 23 are located in Wisconsin, accounting for 11.17 percent of the total pivot counties.^[15]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Wisconsin had 21 Retained Pivot Counties and two Boomerang Pivot Counties, accounting for 11.60 and 8.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

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Contact information

Phone: (608) 266-3516

See also

Wisconsin	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis
Wisconsin State Executive Offices Wisconsin State Legislature Wisconsin Courts	2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 Wisconsin elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016	Party control of state government State government trifectas State of the state addresses Partisan composition of governors

External links

Suggest a link

• Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin

Footnotes

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