For immediate release
Contact: Julia Hurst (859) 283-1400
Office of Lt. Governor is Most Successful Springboard to Governor
The office of lieutenant governor is the most successful springboard to become governor of any elected office, according to a new study. An analysis of the background of every United States governor serving between the years 1980 – 2006 reveals the most prevalent offices previously held by governors were those of State House, Lieutenant Governor, and State Senate.
“The analysis shows that for the period studied, 25% of lieutenant governors became governor while about 1% of state house members rose to that same office,” said researcher Morgan Mundell. “Fifty-six of approximately 225 lieutenant governors in the period became governor, while ninety-six of the more than 5,000 state house members, adjusted for turnover, became governor.”
The study looked at every available local, state or Congressional office held by governors previous to becoming governor.
“The office of lieutenant governor has a greater success rate of its occupants becoming governor than any other local, state or Congressional office,” said NLGA Director Julia Hurst.
“For governors who served in the period, 96 had a State House background, 56 once were lieutenant governor, and 53 were State Senators,” said Mundell. “The next ranking offices by total tally are U.S. House found in 28 gubernatorial backgrounds, Attorney General found in 24 gubernatorial backgrounds, Mayor found in 19 gubernatorial backgrounds, and Secretary of State found in 16 gubernatorial backgrounds.”
A white paper detailing the full results of this NLGA study can be found at www.nlga.us. This research follows a June NLGA study of this year which concluded that one in four governors who served between 1980- 2006 first served as lieutenant governor or in the office first in line of succession. That June report completed 100 years of data, with the previous data set being published in the 1996 book “Lieutenant Governors: The Office and its Powers.”
“In combination, data shows that approximately one in every four governors in the nation for more than 100 years once served as lieutenant governor,” says Hurst. “And, no office has a better success rate in becoming governor.”
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