What does the lieutenant governor do?

Oversees the state Senate, serves on state boards and takes over if the governor cannot serve.

Elected separately from the governor to a four-year term, the lieutenant governor is first in line to succeed if the governor leaves the state, is incapacitated, is removed from office or dies.

Other than that, the position has little institutional power.

The lieutenant governor serves as the Senate president, but votes only to break a tie. In recent years, the office has had the smallest staff and budget of any statewide official, elected or appointed.

The position has changed over the years.

From 1866 to 1972, it was a part-time position with considerable powers to appoint Senate committees and control the flow of bills.

From 1973 to 1989, it was a full-time position with its own staff.

When Republican Jim Gardner took the job in 1988, the Democratic-controlled legislature gave those duties to the president pro tem of the Senate.

The lieutenant governor is one of 10 members of the Council of State, which oversees spending of tax dollars and conducts business on behalf of state government. Its duties are briefly described in Article II, sections 13 and 14 of the state Constitution, and Article III, sections 2, 3 and 6.

In addition, the lieutenant governor serves on the State Board of Education, the N.C. Board of Community Colleges, the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center Board and the Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission.

Candidates for lieutenant governor must be at least 30 years old, U.S. citizens for at least five years and North Carolina residents for at least two years.

Like the governor, the lieutenant governor is limited to two consecutive terms.

In recent years, the office has been seen as a placeholder for future gubernatorial candidates, although between Lt. Gov. Jim Hunt's win in 1976 and Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's
win in 2008, four lieutenant governors lost either a primary or a general election.

First elected in 2000, Perdue was the first female lieutenant governor in North Carolina.