Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

	Ohio Lieutenant Governor
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	Unavailable
Term limits:	Two consecutive terms
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Ohio Constitution, Article III, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder(s)
	Lieutenant Governor of Ohio Jim Tressel; Republican Party; Assumed office: February 14, 2025
	Elections
Next election:	2026
Last election:	2022
	Other Ohio Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Lieutenant Governor of Ohio is an elected constitutional officer, the second ranking officer of the executive branch and the first officer in line to succeed the Governor of Ohio. The lieutenant governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two consecutive terms.

Current officeholder

See also: Current Lieutenant Governors

The current Lieutenant Governor of Ohio is Jim Tressel (R). Tressel assumed office in 2025.

Authority

The Ohio Constitution establishes the office of lieutenant governor in Article III, the Executive Department.

Under Article III, Section 1:

The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor...^[1]

Qualifications

A candidate for lieutenant governor may not hold any congressional, federal, or any other statewide office.^[1]

Elections

See also: Gubernatorial election cycles by state

See also: Election of lieutenant governors

Ohio elects lieutenant governors in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not presidential election years (e.g. 2018, 2022, 2026, and 2030). Legally, the lieutenant gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the second Monday in the January following an election.

If two candidates are tied, a joint session of the legislature shall cast votes to choose among the top two vote-getters.^[1]

Term limits

Term limits for the lieutenant governor are laid out in Article III, Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution. The lieutenant governor is forbidden from serving more than two consecutive terms.

Ohio Constitution, Article III, Section 2:

“

The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer of state, and attorney general shall hold their offices for four years commencing on the second Monday of January, 1959. Their terms of office shall continue until their successors are elected and qualified. The auditor of state shall hold his office for a term of two years from the second Monday of January, 1961 to the second Monday of January, 1963 and thereafter shall hold this office for a four year term. No person shall hold the office of governor for a period longer than two successive terms of four years. No person shall hold any one of the offices of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer of state, attorney general, or auditor of state for a period longer than two successive terms of four years. Terms shall be considered successive unless separated by a period of four or more years. Only terms beginning on or after January 1, 1995 shall be considered in determining an individual’s eligibility to hold the office of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer of state, attorney general, or auditor of state. In determining the eligibility of an individual to hold an office in accordance with this article, (A) time spent in an office in fulfillment of a term to which another person was first elected shall not be considered provided that a period of at least four years passed between the time, if any, in which the individual previously held that office, and the time the individual is elected or appointed to fulfill the unexpired term; and (B) a person who is elected to an office in a regularly scheduled general election and resigns prior to the completion of the term for which he or she was elected, shall be considered to have served the full term in that office.^[2]

”

Election results

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Ohio gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (May 5 Democratic primary)

Ohio gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (May 5 Republican primary)

Ohio gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026 (May 5 Libertarian primary)

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

The following candidates are running in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Amy Acton (D) / David Pepper (D)
		Vivek Ramaswamy (R) / Robert McColley (R)
		Don Kissick (L) / James Mills (L)
	Submit photo Submit photo	Ron Ula (Independent) / Michael Lehnerd (Independent) (Write-in)
		Heather Hill (Independent) / Pat Manley (Independent) (Write-in)
		Tim Grady (Independent) / Andrea Neutzling (Independent) (Write-in)
	Submit photo	Renea Turner (Independent) / Jalen Turner (Independent) (Write-in)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

David Pepper (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio on May 5, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Amy Acton / David Pepper	100.0	767,360

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 767,360
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary

Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

Robert McColley (R) defeated Kim Georgeton (R) in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio on May 5, 2026.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Vivek Ramaswamy / Robert McColley	82.4	676,562
	Casey Putsch / Kim Georgeton	17.6	144,184

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 820,746
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Heather Hill (R) (Disqualified, still on ballot) / Stuart Moats (R) (Withdrew, still on ballot)
Renea Turner (R) / Jalen Turner (R)

Libertarian Party primary

Libertarian Party primary for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

James Mills (L) defeated Christy Jo Orr (L) and Christy Jo Orr (L) in the Libertarian Party primary for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio on May 5, 2026.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Don Kissick / James Mills	98.0	8,705
	Submit photo	Travis Vought / Christy Jo Orr (Write-in)	2.0	180
	Submit photo	Travis Vought / Christy Jo Orr (Write-in)	2.0	180

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,885
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.