| Post: | Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico |
| Native Name: | Vicegobernador de Nuevo México |
| Insignia: | Seal of New Mexico.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 150px |
| Insigniacaption: | Seal of New Mexico |
| Incumbent: | Howie Morales |
| Incumbentsince: | January 1, 2019 |
| First: | Ezequiel Cabeza De Baca |
| Formation: | 1912 |
| Termlength: | Four years |
| Website: | Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico |
The lieutenant governor of New Mexico (es|vicegobernador de Nuevo México) is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of New Mexico, ranking just below the governor. Thirty individuals have held the office of lieutenant governor since statehood, two of them serving non-consecutively. The incumbent is Howie Morales, a Democrat.
The lieutenant governor is elected on a joint ticket with the governor for a four-year term. While the governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket in the general election, the candidates run separately during primary elections.[1]
Prior to November 4, 2008, the New Mexico State Constitution did not provide for the nomination of a replacement for lieutenant governor after the governor's office was succeeded. Section 16 of Article V of the New Mexico State Constitution gives the governor the power to nominate a replacement for lieutenant governor upon confirmation of the nominee by a majority of the State Senate.[2]
The lieutenant governor is the first person in the gubernatorial line of succession by virtue of the New Mexico Constitution. Thus, the lieutenant governor serves as acting governor whenever the incumbent governor is absent from the state, incapacitated by reason of illness, or impeached by the House of Representatives and otherwise becomes governor in the event of the incumbent's death, resignation, or removal from office.[3] Likewise, the lieutenant governor is ex officio president of the Senate.[4] In this capacity as Senate president, the lieutenant governor has plenary authority to preserve decorum, to rule on points of order, and to certify all instruments of process coming before the Senate. The lieutenant governor may also cast tie-breaking votes, but only when the Senate is equally divided on a question.[5]
Aside from these constitutional functions, the lieutenant governor performs several statutory functions. Foremost among them, the lieutenant governor serves as an ombudsperson for the whole of state government, investigating and attempting to resolve citizen complaints filed by New Mexicans in relation to their dealings with state agencies.[6] The lieutenant governor is also a statutory member of the governor's Cabinet and of various state boards and commissions.[7]
The office of lieutenant governor was created on January 6, 1912, the year New Mexico was admitted into the Union as the 48th state. Ezequiel Cabeza De Baca served as New Mexico's first lieutenant governor. Over the intervening years, New Mexico has had 27 individuals in the lieutenant governor's office, two of whom have served non-consecutive terms. The last lieutenant governor to succeed to the governorship was Tom Bolack, following the resignation of Edwin L. Mechem on November 30, 1962. Ezequiel Cabeza De Baca is the only lieutenant governor to be elected as governor in a later term.[8]
| Image | Lt. Governor | Took office | Left office | Party | Governor(s) served with | Years in office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ezequiel Cabeza De Baca | January 6, 1912 | January 1, 1917 | Democratic | William C. McDonald | 5[9] | ||
| 2 | Washington E. Lindsey | January 1, 1917 | February 18, 1917 | Republican | Ezequiel Cabeza De Baca | 1 [10] | ||
| vacant | February 18, 1917 | January 1, 1919 | Washington E. Lindsey | |||||
| 3 | Benjamin F. Pankey | January 1, 1919 | January 1, 1921 | Republican | Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo | 2 | ||
| 4 | William Duckworth | January 1, 1921 | January 1, 1923 | Republican | Merritt C. Mechem | 2 | ||
| 5 | José A. Baca | January 1, 1923 | May 1924 | Democratic | James F. Hinkle | 1 [11] | ||
| vacant | May 1924 | January 1, 1925 | James F. Hinkle | |||||
| 6 | Edward G. Sargent | January 1, 1925 | January 1, 1929 | Republican | Arthur T. Hannett | 4 | ||
| Richard C. Dillon | ||||||||
| 7 | Hugh B. Woodward | January 1, 1929 | July 1929 | Republican | Richard C. Dillon | [12] | ||
| vacant | July 1929 | January 1, 1931 | Richard C. Dillon | |||||
| 8 | Andrew W. Hockenhull | January 1, 1931 | September 25, 1933 | Democratic | Arthur Seligman | 2 [13] | ||
| vacant | September 25, 1933 | January 1, 1935 | Andrew W. Hockenhull | |||||
| 9 | Louis Cabeza de Baca | January 1, 1935 | January 1, 1937 | Democratic | Clyde Tingley | 2 | ||
| 10 | Hiram M. Dow | January 1, 1937 | January 1, 1939 | Democratic | Clyde Tingley | 2 | ||
| 11 | James Murray, Sr. | January 1, 1939 | January 1, 1941 | Democratic | John E. Miles | 2 | ||
| 12 | Ceferino Quintana | January 1, 1941 | January 1, 1943 | Democratic | John E. Miles | 2 | ||
| 13 | James B. Jones | January 1, 1943 | January 1, 1947 | Democratic | John J. Dempsey | 4 | ||
| 14 | Joseph Montoya | January 1, 1947 | January 1, 1951 | Democratic | Thomas J. Mabry | 4 | ||
| 15 | Tibo J. Chávez | January 1, 1951 | January 1, 1955 | Democratic | Edwin L. Mechem | 4 | ||
| 16 | Joseph Montoya | January 1, 1955 | April 1957 | Democratic | John F. Simms | 2 [14] | ||
| Edwin L. Mechem | ||||||||
| vacant | April 1957 | January 1, 1959 | Edwin L. Mechem | |||||
| 17 | Ed V. Mead | January 1, 1959 | January 1, 1961 | Democratic | John Burroughs | 2 | ||
| 18 | Tom Bolack | January 1, 1961 | November 30, 1962 | Democratic | Edwin L. Mechem | 1 [15] | ||
| vacant | November 30, 1962 | January 1, 1963 | Tom Bolack | |||||
| 19 | Mack Easley | January 1, 1963 | January 1, 1967 | Democratic | Jack M. Campbell | 4 | ||
| 20 | Lee Francis | January 1, 1967 | January 1, 1971 | Republican | David Cargo | 4 | ||
| 21 | Roberto Mondragón | January 1, 1971 | January 1, 1975 | Democratic | Bruce King | 4 | ||
| 22 | Robert E. Ferguson | January 1, 1975 | January 1, 1979 | Democratic | Jerry Apodaca | 4 | ||
| 23 | Roberto Mondragón | January 1, 1979 | January 1, 1983 | Democratic | Bruce King | 4 | ||
| 24 | Mike Runnels | January 1, 1983 | January 1, 1987 | Democratic | Toney Anaya | 4 | ||
| 25 | Jack L. Stahl | January 1, 1987 | January 1, 1991 | Republican | Garrey Carruthers | 4 | ||
| 26 | Casey Luna | January 1, 1991 | January 1, 1995 | Democratic | Bruce King | 4 | ||
| 27 | Walter D. Bradley | January 1, 1995 | January 1, 2003 | Republican | Gary Johnson | 8 | ||
| 28 | Diane Denish | January 1, 2003 | January 1, 2011 | Democratic | Bill Richardson | 8[16] | ||
| 29 | John Sanchez | January 1, 2011 | January 1, 2019 | Republican | Susana Martinez | 8 | ||
| 30 | Howie Morales | January 1, 2019 | Incumbent | Democratic | Michelle Lujan Grisham | 1 | ||