Arizona Set to Welcome Its First Lieutenant Governor in 2026
By: Linley Wilson
For 114 years, Arizona governed without one — making it one of the last holdouts in the country. For the first time since achieving statehood in 1912, Arizona will elect a Lieutenant Governor this year. The creation of this new office reshapes the line of gubernatorial succession and aligns Arizona more closely with the majority of states across the country.
Legislative Origins
The road to this change began in 2022, when Senator Mesnard sponsored Senate Concurrent Resolution 1024, proposing an amendment to the Arizona Constitution’s provisions governing the executive department. Alongside SCR 1024, Senator Mesnard also sponsored Senate Bill 1255, conditional companion legislation establishing the statutory framework for the new office. Governor Doug Ducey signed SB 1255 into law on July 6, 2022, with a conditional enactment provision tying its effectiveness to voter approval of SCR 1024. Both measures were designed to apply beginning with elections for the term of office starting in 2027.
When SCR 1024 appeared on the November 2022 ballot as Proposition 131, Arizona voters approved it with 55% of the vote. Before this measure, Arizona was one of only five states without a Lieutenant Governor — alongside Wyoming, Maine, New Hampshire, and Oregon.
The Joint Ticket
Candidates for Lieutenant Governor will run on a joint ticket with the candidate for Governor, much like the President and Vice President at the federal level. Each nominee for Governor must name a Lieutenant Governor running mate no later than 60 days before the November General Election and submit that name to the Secretary of State. A vote for a Governor nominee constitutes a vote for the entire ticket. With the November 3, 2026 General Election on the calendar, gubernatorial nominees must announce their running mates no later than September 4, 2026.
Duties and the Line of Succession
Under the amended Arizona Constitution, the Lieutenant Governor replaces the Secretary of State as first in the line of gubernatorial succession. Should the Governor become unable to serve, the Lieutenant Governor will succeed to the office. If the Lieutenant Governor’s own office becomes vacant, the Governor would appoint a replacement subject to legislative approval. If both offices are vacant simultaneously, succession falls to the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer, or Superintendent of Public Instruction, in that order. The prior arrangement — in which the Secretary of State stood first in line regardless of party — had at times produced tensions when the two offices were held by officials of different political backgrounds, a dynamic Proposition 131 was expressly designed to resolve.
By requiring a joint ticket, Proposition 131 ensures that the successor shares the same political platform as the elected Governor. Beyond succession, SB 1255 requires the Governor to appoint the Lieutenant Governor to serve as chief of staff, director of the Arizona Department of Administration, or to fill another position the Governor is authorized to appoint.
Looking Ahead to November
With this addition, Arizona will join 45 other states that already have a Lieutenant Governor, bringing the national total to 46 by 2027. Arizona’s joint-ticket approach follows a broader national trend and avoids the inter-party or intra-party conflicts that some states have experienced between separately elected executive officeholders.
The 2026 election cycle will be a busy one, with 36 states holding gubernatorial elections. Arizona’s contest represents a historic first for the state. Several candidates have entered the race for the Arizona governorship in 2026, and the question of who each nominee selects as a running mate will draw significant attention given the historic nature of the choice. The running mate announcements will be closely watched following Arizona’s July 21 Primary Election as voters cast ballots for a full executive ticket — Governor and Lieutenant Governor together — for the first time in Arizona’s history.
