RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — They’re the second most powerful person in Virginia, but what do they actually do?
That’s the question that could be on the mind of voters as they head to the polls in June to select the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.
“The lieutenant governor is kind of like a secret, extra vote in Survivor,” Randolph-Macon Political Science Professor Rich Meagher told 8News.
Meagher says the answer is somewhat complicated because people tend to think of the lieutenant governor the same way they think about the vice president. However, unlike the VP, the lieutenant governor is a separate position that is separately elected from the top of the ticket.
“It’s not really the case that the lieutenant governor has a position representing the governor or being part of the governor’s team. That’s up to them whether they can work that out,” Meagher explained.
Meagher said in reality, the lieutenant governor only has one role according to the Virginia Constitution, in addition to being first in line to succeed the governor if they are forced to leave office.
“The key power that the lieutenant governors had in recent years is the ability to cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate,” Meagher said.
Meagher added that the ability to cast that tiebreaking vote could be critical with Democrats currently holding a slim 21-19 majority in the Virginia Senate.
“A vote that’s really important for each party to have because it helps provide that extra cushion. If you have a senator who feels uncomfortable about an issue, or have a controversial issue that you feel like it’s gonna be really hard to get your entire majority to vote for, it’s nice to have a little bit of an extra cushion,” Meagher told 8News.
The reason there is not a Republican primary for lieutenant governor is because former radio host John Reid has already secured the nomination after his primary opponent, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, withdrew from the race due to health reasons.
