Category: Lieutenant Governor / page 4

Judy Martz
Judy Martz


Judy Martz served as governor of Montana from 2001-2005, Montana's first female governor. Martz was born in Big Timber, Montana, on July 28, 1943. She was a speed skater at the 1964 Olympics and the 1962 Miss Rodeo Montana. She and her husband owned and operated a garbage disposal service in Butte, Montana. Martz was a field representative for Senator Conrad Burns from 1989-1995. She served as lieutenant governor of Montana from 1996-2001. Martz died on October 30, 2017. Sources: Miss Rodeo Montana, Inc. (n.d.) Miss Rodeo Montana History. Retrieved […]
Ruth Ann Minner
Ruth Ann Minner


Ruth Ann Minner served as governor of Delaware from 2001-2009, the state's first female governor. She was also the first woman elected as Delaware's lieutenant governor, in 1993. Minner was born January 17, 1935, in Delaware. Following the death of her first husband, she earned her GED in 1968 and later attended Delaware Technical and Community College. Prior to serving as governor, Minner served as Delaware's lieutenant governor from 1993-2001. She also served in the Delaware state Senate (1983-1993) and state House of Representatives (1975-1983). Minner died on Nov. 4, […]
Carol Molnau
Carol Molnau


Carol Molnau served as Minnesota's lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2011. Molnau was born September 17, 1949, in Waconia, Minnesota, and attended the University of Minnesota. She served on the Chaska City Council from 1989 to 1992. Prior to serving as lieutenant governor, Molnau was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1992 and served five terms. Formally the head of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Molnau served as Minnesota's lieutenant governor and transport commissioner simultaneously. Sources: Ballotpedia (n.d.). “Carol Molnau” Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 7, 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/Carol_Molnau
Barbara O’Brien
Barbara O'Brien


Barbara O'Brien served as Colorado's 47th lieutenant governor from 2007 to 2011. She was the fourth woman to hold the position of lieutenant governor in the state. O'Brien was born April 18, 1950, in Brawley, California. She obtained her Ph.D. in English from Columbia University. Prior to her political career, O'Brien worked as a speechwriter and policy advisor for Governor Richard Lamm. She also worked for the University of Colorado at Denver as the director of campus affairs and later served the university as the director of the Institute for […]
Sheila Oliver
Sheila Oliver


Sheila Oliver served as the lieutenant governor of New Jersey from 2018-2023, New Jersey's first Black lieutenant governor and the first woman of color elected to statewide office in the state. Oliver was born on July 14, 1952, in Newark, New Jersey. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Lincoln University in 1974 and received her master's degree in planning and administration from Columbia University in 1976. Oliver served on the Board of Education of the East Orange (N.J.) School District from 1994 to […]
Sally Pederson
Sally Pederson


Sally Pederson served as Iowa's 45th lieutenant governor from 1999 to 2007.  A native of Vinton, Iowa, Pederson was born January 13, 1951. She graduated from Iowa State University in 1973. Following, she became an executive at Meredith Corporation in Des Moines, Iowa, and served as the senior food editor for Better Homes and Gardens. As lieutenant governor, Pederson advocated for individuals with disabilities and led the Vilsack-Pederson administration's initiatives for health care and human services. She worked to expand access to health care for children, ensure fair prices of […]
Beverly E Perdue
Beverly E Perdue


Beverly Perdue served as governor of North Carolina from 2009-2013, the state's first female governor. Perdue was born January 14, 1947, in Grundy, Virginia. She received a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Kentucky in 1969 and her M.Ed. in community college administration (1974) and her Ph.D. in education administration (1976) from the University of Florida. Before entering politics, Perdue worked as a teacher and a health care consultant. Perdue served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1987-1991 and the North Carolina Senate from 1991-2001, […]
Karyn Polito
Karyn Polito


Karyn Polito served as the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 2015-2023. Polito was born on Nov. 11, 1966, in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. She received her Bachelor of Science in 1988 from Boston College and her Juris Doctor from the New England School of Law shortly after. Before entering the public sector, Polito owned and operated a commercial real estate development firm. Her political career began in local government, serving as a member of the Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen and the State Lottery Commission. In 2000, she was elected to the Massachusetts […]
Yvonne Prettner Solon
Yvonne Prettner Solon


Yvonne Prettner Solon served as Minnesota's lieutenant governor from 2011 to 2015. Prettner Solon was the 6th consecutive woman to serve as Minnesota's lieutenant governor. Prettner Solon was born February 3, 1946, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She received her Bachelor of Science degree and her Master of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. Prior to being elected as lieutenant governor, Prettner Solon served in the Minnesota State Senate from 2002 to 2011, representing the 7th District of Minnesota. While in Senate, Solon was a member of the Senate's Capital […]
Michele Reagan
Michele Reagan


Michele Reagan has served as a justice of the peace for the Maricopa County McDowell Mountain Precinct in Arizona since 2021. Reagan was born on October 13, 1969, in Rockford, Illinois, and graduated from Illinois State University. She moved to Arizona in 1991 with her family. Reagan was elected to the Arizona State House in 2002, where she served until 2010 when she was elected to the Arizona State Senate. She served as Arizona’s secretary of state from 2015-2019, losing in the 2018 primary election.