The president of the West Virginia Senate is a member of the

West Virginia Senate The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. Although the Democratic Party held a supermajority in t ...

who has been elected to be its president by the other senators. The current Senate president is

Craig Blair Craig Philip Blair (born October 17, 1959) is an American politician and a Republican member of the West Virginia Senate representing District 15 since January 12, 2013. Blair served non-consecutively in the West Virginia Legislature from Januar ...

, who has been in office since January 2021. In addition to serving as the Senate's presiding officer, the Senate President is also first in the line of succession to the office of

governor of West Virginia A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

(the Senate president does not succeed to that office, but rather assumes that office's powers and duties as ''acting governor'', with the governorship remaining vacant). As stated in Article 7, Section 16 of the West Virginia Constitution: "In case of the death, conviction or

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

, failure to qualify, resignation, or other disability of the governor, the president of the Senate shall act as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

until the vacancy is filled, or the disability removed." However, the Senate President may not always serve that role for the whole remainder of the gubernatorial term, as the constitution also states: "Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of governor before the first three years of the term shall have expired, a new election for governor shall take place to fill the vacancy." The West Virginia Constitution does not create or even mention the title of

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. However, in 2000, the

West Virginia Legislature The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of West Virginia. A bicameral legislative body, the legislature is split between the upper Senate and the lower House of Delegates. It was established under Article VI o ...

adopted West Virginia Code chapter 6A, section 1-4(b), which says "the president of the Senate shall be additionally designated the title of lieutenant governor".

Earl Ray Tomblin Earl Ray Tomblin (born March 15, 1952) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of West Virginia from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the West Virginia Senate from 1980 to 2011 and as pre ...

was the first Senate president to thus have the title lieutenant governor of West Virginia.

List

The presidents of the

since 1863:

List

References

See also