List of lieutenant governors of Rhode Island explained

The current lieutenant governor of Rhode Island is Sabina Matos, who was sworn in on April 14, 2021, after Daniel McKee succeeded to the office of governor. The first lieutenant governor was George Brown.

In Rhode Island, the lieutenant governor and governor of Rhode Island are elected on separate tickets.

Seven lieutenant governors have served during a vacancy in the office of governor under the current 1842 constitution: Francis M. Dimond (1853), William C. Cozzens (1863), Charles D. Kimball (1901), Norman Case (1928), John Pastore (1945), and John S. McKiernan (1950).^[1]

William Brenton, of Newport; November 1663 – 2 May 1666
Nicholas Easton, of Newport; 2 May 1666 – 5 May 1669
John Clarke, of Newport; 5 May 1669 – 4 May 1670
Nicholas Easton, of Newport; 4 May 1670 – 3 May 1671
John Clarke, of Newport; 3 May 1671 – 1 May 1672
John Cranston, of Newport; 1 May 1672 – 7 May 1673
William Coddington, of Newport; 7 May 1673 – 6 May 1674
John Easton, of Newport; 6 May 1674 – April 1676
John Cranston, of Newport; 3 May 1676 – 8 November 1678 (became governor)
James Barker, of Newport; 8 November 1678 – 7 May 1679
Walter Clarke, of Newport; 7 May 1679 – 5 May 1686
John Coggeshall, Jr., of Newport; 5 May 1686 – June 1686

The Royal Charter was suspended from 1686 until 1689.

John Coggeshall, Jr., of Newport; 18 April 1689 – 7 May 1690
John Greene, Jr., of Warwick; 7 May 1690 – May 1, 1700
Walter Clarke, of Newport; May 1, 1700 – May 23, 1714 (died in office)
Henry Tew, of Newport; June 15, 1714 – May 3, 1715
Joseph Jenckes, of Providence; May 3, 1715 – May 3, 1721
John Wanton, of Newport; May 3, 1721 – May 2, 1722
Joseph Jenckes, of Providence; May 2, 1722 – May 3, 1727
Jonathan Nichols, of Newport; May 3, 1727 – August 2, 1727 (died in office)
Thomas Frye, of East Greenwich; August 22, 1727 – May 7, 1729
John Wanton, of Newport; May 7, 1729 – May 5, 1734
George Hazard, of S. Kingstown; May 5, 1734 – before May 22, 1738 (died in office)
Daniel Abbott, of Providence; July 5, 1738 – May 1, 1740
Richard Ward, of Newport; May 1, 1740 – July 15, 1740 (became governor)
William Greene, of Newport; July 15, 1740 – May 4, 1743
Joseph Whipple, Jr., of Newport; May 4, 1743 – May 1, 1745
William Robinson, of S. Kingstown; May 1, 1745 – May 7, 1746
Joseph Whipple, Jr., of Newport; May 7, 1746 – May 6, 1747
William Robinson, of S. Kingstown; May 6, 1747 – May 4, 1748
William Ellery, Sr., of Newport; May 4, 1748 – May 2, 1750
Robert Hazard, of S. Kingstown; May 2, 1750 – May 1, 1751
Joseph Whipple, III, of Newport; May 1, 1751 – November 2, 1753 (resigned)
Jonathan Nichols, Jr., of Newport; November 2, 1753 – May 1, 1754
John Gardner, of Newport; May 1, 1754 – May 7, 1755
Jonathan Nichols, Jr., of Newport; May 7, 1755 – September 1756 (died in office)
John Gardner, of Newport; September 6, 1756 – January 1764 (died in office)
Joseph Wanton, Jr., of Newport; February 27, 1764 – May 1, 1765
Elisha Brown, of N. Providence; May 1, 1765 – May 6, 1767
Joseph Wanton, Jr., of Newport; May 6, 1767 – May 4, 1768
Nicholas Cooke, of Providence; May 4, 1768 – May 3, 1769
Darius Sessions, of Providence; May 3, 1769 – May 3, 1775
Nicholas Cooke, of Providence; May 3, 1775 – November 7, 1775 (became governor)
William Bradford, of Bristol; November 7, 1775 – May 6, 1778

Term start	Term end	Residence
Nov. 1775	May 1778	Bristol
May 1778	May 1780	Providence
May 1780	May 1781	Scituate
May 1781	May 1786	Providence
May 1786	May 1790	Glocester
May 1790	Feb. 1799	S. Kingstown

The title of the office was changed to Lieutenant Governor in 1798.

Party	Term start	Term end	Residence	Governor(s) served under
	1799	1800	S. Kingstown	Arthur Fenner
	1800	1803	S. Kingstown	Arthur Fenner
	1803	1805	Newport	Arthur Fenner
	1806	1807	Little Compton	Isaac Wilbour
	1807	1808	Newport	James Fenner
Federalist	1808	1810	Newport	James Fenner
Democratic-Republican	1810	1811	Little Compton	James Fenner
Federalist	1811	1816	Newport	William Jones
Federalist	1816	1817	Hopkinton	William Jones
Democratic-Republican	1817	1821	Charlestown	Nehemiah R. Knight
Democratic-Republican	1821	1824	Providence	William C. Gibbs
	1824	1833	Newport	James Fenner Lemuel H. Arnold
Democratic	1833	1835	Exeter	John B. Francis
Whig	1835	1836	Newport	John B. Francis
Democratic	1836	1837	Exeter	John B. Francis
Democratic	1837	1838	Hopkinton	John B. Francis
Whig	1838	1839	Portsmouth	William Sprague III
Whig	1840	1842	Bristol	Samuel Ward King
	1842	1843	Bristol	Samuel Ward King

Lieutenant governors under the constitution, 1843–present

No.	Party	Term start	Term end	Governor(s) served under	Residence
1	Law & Order	1843	1846		Bristol
2	Whig	1846	1847		Coventry
3	Whig	1847	1849		Newport
4	Whig	1849	1851		Coventry
5	Democratic	1851	1852		Newport
6	Whig	1852	1853		Providence
7	Democratic	1853	1854	himself	Bristol
8	Whig	1854	1855		N. Kingstown
9	American	1855	1856		New Shoreham
10	American	1856	1857		Warwick
11	Republican	1857	1859		Warren
12	American Republican	1859	1860		Scituate
13	Democratic	1860	1861		Bristol
14	Democratic & Constitutional Unionist	1861	1862		Providence
15	Republican	1863	1865		Providence
16		1865	1866		Newport
17	Republican	1866	1868		Warwick
18	Republican	1868	1872		Newport
19	Democratic	1872	1873		Warren
20	Republican	1873	1875		Newport
21	Republican	1875	1877		Little Compton
22	Republican	1877	1880		E. Providence
23	Republican	1880	1883		Newport
24	Republican	1883	1885		Woonsocket
25	Republican	1885	1887		Pawtucket
26	Democratic	1887	1888		Newport
27	Republican	1888	1889		Warwick
28	Republican	1889	1890		Central Falls
29	Democratic	1890	1891		Bristol
30	Republican	1891	1892		Lincoln
31	Republican	1892	1894		Middletown
32	Republican	1894	1897		Hopkinton
33	Republican	1897	1898		Woonsocket
34	Republican	1898	1900		N. Kingstown
35	Republican	1900	1901		Providence
36	Republican	1902	1903		Providence
37	Democratic	1903	1904		Woonsocket
38	Republican	1904	1905		Westerly
39	Republican	1905	1908		Providence
40	Republican	1908	1909		Warwick
41	Republican	1909	1910		Providence
42	Republican	1910	1913		Cranston
43	Republican	1913	1915		L. Compton
44	Republican	1915	1921		Providence
45	Republican	1921	1923		Providence
46	Democratic	1923	1925		Lincoln
47	Republican	1925	1927		S. Kingstown
48	Republican	1927	1928		Providence
49	Republican	1929	1933		Pawtucket
50	Democratic	1933	1937		W. Warwick
51	Democratic	1937	1939		Pawtucket
52	Republican	1939	1941		W. Warwick
53	Democratic	1941	1944		Providence
54	Democratic	1945	1945		Providence
55	Democratic	1945	1957		Providence
56	Democratic	1957	1959		Pawtucket
57	Democratic	1959	1961		Providence
58	Democratic	1961	1965		Providence
59	Democratic	1965	1967		Scituate
60	Republican	1967	1969		N. Smithfield
61	Democratic	1969	1977		Providence
62	Democratic	1977	1985		Johnston
63	Democratic	1985	1989		Providence
64	Democratic	1989	1993		Woonsocket
65	Democratic	1993	1997		E. Providence
66	Republican	1997	1999		E. Greenwich
67	Democratic	1999	2007		Glocester
68	Democratic	2007	2015		Cranston
69	Democratic	2015	2021		Cumberland
70	Democratic	2021	present		Providence

Unusual candidacies

During the 2010 elections, the Cool Moose Party of Rhode Island submitted Bob Healey as candidate for lieutenant governor. He ran on the proposition that he would attempt to abolish the office of lieutenant governor itself.^[2]

Notes and References

News: McGowan . Dan . 11 January 2021 . How many times have there been a gubernatorial vacancy in Rhode Island? . . 2022-04-17.
Web site: Votehealey.com - Robert J. Healey Jr. For Rhode Island Governor . dead . October 22, 2010 . March 23, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160323000013/http://votehealey.com/index.html .