Lieutenant Governor of Delaware

Lieutenant Governor of Delaware
Great Seal of the State of Delaware
Incumbent Kyle Evans Gay since January 21, 2025
Government of Delaware
Style	Madam Lieutenant Governor
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Philip L. Cannon
Succession	First
Website	Official website

The lieutenant governor of Delaware is the second-ranking executive officer of the U.S. state of Delaware. Lieutenant governors are elected for a term of four years in the same general election as the U.S. president, and assume the office on the third Tuesday in January following their election.

Among the primary responsibilities of the lieutenant governor is to assume the governorship in the event it becomes vacant. Lieutenant governors serve as the president of the Delaware Senate, where they are tasked with casting tie-breaking votes. They also hold a seat on the Delaware Board of Pardons.

Lieutenant governors are elected separately from governors in Delaware, though historically nominees of the same party have run as a unified ticket. The office's current occupant, Kyle Evans Gay, was sworn in on January 21, 2025.

History

The position of lieutenant governor was established by the Constitution of Delaware in 1897. The first election for the office took place in 1900, when it was won by Philip L. Cannon. Since then, a total of 27 individuals (15 Democrats and 12 Republicans) have held the lieutenant governorship.

On December 30, 1960, Lieutenant Governor David P. Buckson became the first occupant of the office to ascend to the governorship. He served the remaining two weeks of the term of J. Caleb Boggs, who resigned from office ahead of his inauguration as a United States senator.

Though lieutenant governors are permitted to serve two terms, none sought reelection until Eugene Bookhammer in 1972. No lieutenant governor who has pursued a second term has ever lost reelection of renomination to the office.

Despite being separately elected positions, Delaware has historically chosen governors and lieutenant governors of the same party. The last time voters split their tickets for the two offices was in 1984, when Democrat S. B. Woo won the lieutenant governorship at the same time as Mike Castle won the governorship.

Reflecting Delaware's increasingly Democratic political lean, no Republican has won the office since 1988.

Kyle Evans Gay is the current lieutenant governor, having taken office January 21, 2025.

The offices of the lieutenant governor are at the state capital of Dover. Lieutenant governors receive an annual salary of $83,884.

List

  Democratic (15)   Republican (12)

Lieutenant governors of Delaware

No.	Lieutenant Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Governor
1			Philip L. Cannon (1850–1929)	January 15, 1901 – January 17, 1905 (did not run)	Republican	1900		John Hunn
2			Isaac T. Parker (1849–1911)	January 15, 1905 – January 19, 1909 (did not run)	Republican	1904		Preston Lea
3			John M. Mendinhall (1861–1938)	January 19, 1909 – January 21, 1913 (did not run)	Republican	1908		Simeon S. Pennewill
4			Colen Ferguson (1835–1917)	January 21, 1913 – January 16, 1917 (did not run)	Democratic	1912		Charles R. Miller
5			Lewis E. Eliason (1850–1919)	January 16, 1917 – May 2, 1919 (died in office)	Democratic	1916		John G. Townsend Jr.
—	Office vacant May 2, 1919 – January 18, 1921
6			J. Danforth Bush (1868–1926)	January 18, 1921 – January 20, 1925 (did not run)	Republican	1920		William D. Denney
7			James H. Anderson (1878–1936)	January 20, 1925 – January 15, 1929 (did not run)	Republican	1924		Robert P. Robinson
8			James H. Hazel (1888–1965)	January 15, 1929 – January 17, 1933 (did not run)	Republican	1928		C. Douglass Buck
9			Roy F. Corley (1874–1953)	January 17, 1933 – January 19, 1937 (did not run)	Republican	1932
10			Edward W. Cooch (1876–1964)	January 19, 1937 – January 21, 1941 (did not run)	Democratic	1936		Richard McMullen
11			Isaac J. MacCollum (1889–1968)	January 21, 1941 – January 16, 1945 (did not run)	Democratic	1940		Walter W. Bacon
12			Elbert N. Carvel (1910–2005)	January 16, 1945 – January 18, 1949 (did not run)	Democratic	1944
13			Alexis I. du Pont Bayard (1918–1985)	January 18, 1949 – January 20, 1953 (did not run)	Democratic	1948		Elbert N. Carvel
14			John W. Rollins (1916–2000)	January 20, 1953 – January 15, 1957 (did not run)	Republican	1952		J. Caleb Boggs
15			David P. Buckson (1920–2017)	January 15, 1957 – December 30, 1960 (succeeded to governor)	Republican	1956
—	Office vacant December 30, 1960 – January 17, 1961							David P. Buckson
16			Eugene Lammot (1899–1987)	January 17, 1961 – January 19, 1965 (did not run)	Democratic	1960		Elbert N. Carvel
17			Sherman W. Tribbitt (1922–2010)	January 19, 1965 – January 21, 1969 (did not run)	Democratic	1964		Charles L. Terry Jr.
18			Eugene Bookhammer (1918–2013)	January 21, 1969 – January 18, 1977 (term-limited)	Republican	1968		Russell W. Peterson
						1972		Sherman W. Tribbitt
19			James D. McGinnis (1932–2009)	January 18, 1977 – January 20, 1981 (did not run)	Democratic	1976		Pete du Pont
20			Mike Castle (1939–2025)	January 20, 1981 – January 15, 1985 (did not run)	Republican	1980
21			S. B. Woo (born 1937)	January 15, 1985 – January 20, 1989 (did not run)	Democratic	1984		Mike Castle
22			Dale E. Wolf (1924–2021)	January 20, 1989 – December 31, 1992 (succeeded to governor)	Republican	1988
—	Office vacant December 31, 1992 – January 19, 1993							Dale E. Wolf
23			Ruth Ann Minner (1935–2021)	January 19, 1993 – January 3, 2001 (succeeded to governor)	Democratic	1992		Tom Carper
						1996
—	Office vacant January 3, 2001 – January 16, 2001							Ruth Ann Minner
24			John Carney (born 1956)	January 16, 2001 – January 20, 2009 (term-limited)	Democratic	2000
						2004
25			Matthew Denn (born 1966)	January 20, 2009 – January 6, 2015 (resigned)	Democratic	2008		Jack Markell
						2012
—	Office vacant January 6, 2015 – January 17, 2017
26			Bethany Hall-Long (born 1963)	January 17, 2017 – January 7, 2025 (succeeded to governor)	Democratic	2016		John Carney
						2020
—	Office vacant January 7, 2025 – January 21, 2025							Bethany Hall-Long
27			Kyle Evans Gay (born 1986)	January 21, 2025 – Incumbent	Democratic	2024		Matt Meyer

References

• Rubenstein, Harvey Bernard (1997). The Delaware Constitution of 1897. The Delaware State Bar Association.
• Martin, Roger A. (1984). A History of Delaware Through its Governors. McClafferty Press, Wilmington.
• Pickett, Russell S. (2006). Delaware and U.S.History. Retrieved January 1, 2006.
• Kestenbaum, Lawrence (2006). The Political Graveyard. Retrieved January 1, 2006.