The cabinet

To carry out the many duties of the office, governors direct the work of several executive leaders. In most states, the top leaders form a cabinet, or group of advisors. The cabinet works closely with the governor to see that state business runs smoothly.

In most states, one of a governor's most important cabinet members is the lieutenant governor. The office of lieutenant governor is found in 43 states. This leader acts as chief executive if the governor is absent from the state, becomes disabled, or dies. In more than one half of the states, the lieutenant governor also acts as president of the state senate.

The lieutenant governor is elected by the people. In 22 states, the governor and the lieutenant governor are elected as a team. That is, they both are nominated by their political party to run on the same ticket. In the other states, however, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately. This means that the person elected governor could be in a different party from the person elected lieu­tenant governor. Should the lieutenant gover­nor succeed the governor, a change in state policy could result.

Many other leaders also are important to the state cabinet. As you can see in Figure 2 below, these may include the secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, and state auditor. Most of these leaders are elected by the voters. In some states, however, they are chosen by the governor.

In most states, the governor's cabinet also is made up of the heads of the executive departments of the state government. These may include the department of safety and the department of agriculture. Many department heads are appointed by the gover­nor. In some states, however, department heads are chosen by the state legislature.