Gubernatorial Succession

Each state constitution sets a line of succession for the governor. In most states the lieutenant governor is first in line, followed by officials such as the president of the state senate, the speaker of the house, the secretary of state, or the attorney general. In states without a lieutenant governor, the secretary of state, as in Arizona, Oregon, and Wyoming, or the senate president, as in Maine and New Hampshire, succeeds. Tennessee and West Virginia give the title of lieutenant governor to the senate speaker.

Governors leave office early fairly often, through resignation to take federal posts, scandal, impeachment, illness, or death. Several governors have resigned under pressure, including in New York in 2008 and 2021, and state legislatures have removed governors by impeachment, including in Arizona in 1988 and Illinois in 2009. In many states the successor serves the remainder of the term, while in others a special election is held if much of the term remains. Some state constitutions make the successor full governor, while others only let the successor act as governor.

Many states also provide that the lieutenant governor or next in line serves as acting governor when the governor is out of the state or temporarily unable to serve, a practice that has occasionally led to surprising acts, such as pardons or appointments made by an acting governor of the other party. Few states have clear procedures for declaring a governor disabled, unlike the federal Twenty-fifth Amendment. When a lieutenant governor's office becomes vacant, some states let the governor appoint a replacement, while others leave it empty until the next election.