The lieutenant governor has few duties. Here’s what else Hashmi and Reid say they’d do if they win.

Every four years, we pick a new governor, who has vast powers to reshape the direction of state government through executive orders, appointments and other decision-making, even when that direction might run contrary to the wishes of the General Assembly.

Every four years, we pick an attorney general — usually new, but not always — who has the power to sue people, oversee some very specific criminal prosecutions, issue formal opinions that are given some weight and more generally give legal advice across state government.

Every four years, we also pick a lieutenant governor whose duties are far more limited — presiding over the state Senate and serving on a handful of boards and commissions, none of them ones that produce much controversy.

The running joke in political circles is that the main job of lieutenant governor is to check each morning to see if the governor is still alive. Since Virginia began electing governors in 1851, we’ve never had a governor die in office and only one who resigned — and he was an appointed governor during the military occupation that followed the Civil War. We might have come close during the “blackface” scandal of 2019 when there was briefly talk that Gov. Ralph Northam might resign, which would have elevated Justin Fairfax to the governorship.

Five states — Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon and Wyoming — see so little need for a lieutenant governor that they don’t have one. They have other officials designated to take over for the governor, if need be. A sixth, Tennessee, has a lieutenant governor but doesn’t bother to elect one; it simply adds that title to that of the speaker of the Senate, an office that we don’t have but that is akin to speaker of the House.

The most consequential duty of the lieutenant governor (other than to assume the governorship, if need be) is to break ties in the state Senate. The best-known tie vote of the most recent legislative session was one that Democrats, who currently hold a 21-19 advantage, engineered so that Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears would cast what they felt was a politically advantageous (to them) vote to kill the right to contraception. Once Democrats had Earle-Sears on the record, they called for a revote and passed the measure. 

Other tie-breaking votes are consequential, just not in ways that become fodder for campaign ads. For instance, in 2024, Earle-Sears broke a 20-20 tie to kill a bill by state Sen. David Marsden, D-Fairfax County, that would have made it a misdemeanor to release hunting dogs by the side of the road so they could go hunt deer. That was an issue that divided senators along party lines except for one: State Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, who has rural constituents, voted with Republicans against the bill.

If you’re looking for an example of a practical way in which the lieutenant governor’s tie-breaking role matters, there you go. You can also look in our Voter Guide to see where the two candidates for lieutenant governor this year — Democrat Ghazala Hashmi and Republican John Reid — stand on other issues. The legislature, though, is only in session for a relatively small part of the year. What would either candidate do with the office the rest of the time?

That’s the question I posed to both candidates during recent interviews — with Hashmi during a phone interview from Richmond, with Reid when he spoke to Republican activists in Roanoke County. Neither said anything that surprised me, but the answers they did give might give Virginians some insight into what type of lieutenant governor they might be when they’re not gaveling the state Senate to order.

Hashmi: ‘Education and health are going to be top of mind‘

Hashmi points out that she has six years of service in the state Senate, which these days is enough time to rank her as a senior member of that body — she’s currently chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee. What she doesn’t point out — but I will — is that Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic candidate for governor, has never served in Richmond. All her political experience is in Washington.

Virginia governors aren’t afforded much of a learning curve; they take office when the legislature is already in session. By the time they reach their two-month mark, one of the four regular sessions they must interact with is already over. That might help offer some context to Hashmi’s account of how she sees the office: “The lieutenant governor is in a unique position, having one foot in the legislative branch and one foot in the executive branch. I think it’s a tremendous opportunity to be able to identify the key priorities, the policy work, that our incoming governor wants to make and ensure that we are effectively using our time during the General Assembly to make progress. For me that’s going to be a critical focus.”

Later in our interview, Hashmi returned to this theme at several points: “I really see an opportunity for the lieutenant governor to play a robust role in this new administration.” And then: “It’s an opportunity for the lieutenant governor to be that collaborative partner between the legislative side and what’s happening with the executive team. I think that’s the real missing link sometimes that we see in some administrations. … Our governors have four years to make an impact in Virginia. We can’t waste a single moment. I’m coming in with a solid and strong legislative record as well as experience. Knowing our state agencies and workings of state government is such a benefit to any incoming administration and being able to hit the ground running in January on day one is going to be important to us.”

My translation of all this: One rap against Glenn Youngkin — by both Democrats and Republican legislators alike — is that he and his team didn’t know much about how state government worked and didn’t interact well with even fellow party members in the General Assembly. Youngkin couldn’t really call on Earle-Sears because she hadn’t served in the legislature in two decades. Hashmi seems to be saying that Spanberger won’t have that problem because she — Hashmi — knows how Richmond works. 

When the legislature isn’t in session, Hashmi said she sees herself spending a lot of time traveling across Virginia, “hearing directly from people about the issues that impact their lives and bringing that back to Richmond.” She said given her legislative and professional background (she’s a retired community college educator and administrator) she expects to spend a lot of time focusing on education and health issues. “Education and health are going to be top of mind for me in the policy space,” she said.

And, of course: “I intend to be a full-time lieutenant governor.”

Reid: ‘I’d like to be … looking 25 years down the road‘

Unlike Hashmi, Reid doesn’t have legislative experience. Where she has seen lieutenant governors firsthand in the state Senate, Reid — a former broadcaster — conducted a form of market research before he decided to run. “I called a lot of people who had been lieutenant governor; even some of the Democrats were willing to take my call,” he said. “There were a few who said it’s not like being vice president of the United States with a motorcade.” Some, he said, found the part-time nature of the office a relief; others found it a hindrance to having a political impact. 

“I think based on some of the more proactive lieutenant governors that I can capitalize on this role to promote issues that I think are important before the legislature comes back and hopefully move the needle,” he said. 

Likely because he’s been a broadcaster, Reid is easily the best speaker of the six statewide candidates, so it’s not hard to picture Reid making use of the “bully pulpit” of the office to advance certain issues. What might those issues be? Unlike Hashmi, Reid did not have a specific list. However, as we talked, the conversation ultimately veered to transportation and economic development, two issues that aren’t particularly partisan. He brought up the proposed inland port in Washington County, an issue that’s important to Republican legislators from Southwest Virginia who see a freight collection-and-distribution hub as a big jobs creator (just as the current one near Front Royal has been).

“What I’d like to be is somebody at the Capitol not just talking about today but looking 25 years down the road,” Reid said. “I wonder if that’s been lost on some of the people at the Capitol — that it’s all about DEI and CRT or tearing down this [statue] about the Civil War. The role of people who work in the Capitol isn’t just to deal with right now; it’s to set us up to win in a highly competitive economic situation — and in all regions, not just Northern Virginia.”

And now for a reality check

Reid talked to former lieutenant governors about the office; so did I. Former Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican, offered this caution: “Most candidates for LG think they will be the governor’s partner and intimately involved in the governor’s administration. They’re usually not that involved in the administration.” Bolling served two terms — one under a Democratic governor (Tim Kaine), the second under a Republican (Bob McDonnell). McDonnell pledged to make Bolling his “chief job creation officer,” and did. 

“The relationship McDonnell and I had was unique and unprecedented,” Bolling said by text message. “Other than my relationship with McDonnell, I don’t really recall any LG being that personally involved in the governor’s administration. Governors surround themselves with their own people, and the LG is usually on the outside looking in. The office could be much better utilized, but in reality the duties are presiding over the Senate, serving on a few Boards and Commissions, and of course, preparing to run for Governor!”