George Voinovich in the context of "National Governors Association"

The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed via impeachment conviction. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve as acting governor if a vacancy in the governorship occurred. Until 1978, lieutenant governors were elected separately but concurrently with the governor (not on a "ticket"). Thus, there were several occasions when the lieutenant governor was from a different party than the governor. This was changed by constitutional amendment. In 1974, Richard F. Celeste was the last lieutenant governor to be elected separately. In 1978, George Voinovich became the first lieutenant governor to be elected on the same ticket with the governor.

From 1852 to 1979, the lieutenant governor also served as the president of the Ohio State Senate. More recently, Ohio governors have generally named the lieutenant governor to head an agency of state government. An example of this is Bruce Edward Johnson, who served as Director of the Ohio Department of Development, as did his successor, Lee Fisher. Recent Lt. Governor Mary Taylor was the director of the Ohio Department of Insurance, until she was replaced by Jillian Froment in 2017.

Richard Michael DeWine (/dəˈwaɪn/ də-WYNE; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th governor of Ohio since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 50th attorney general of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991, and in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2007.

DeWine is a native of Yellow Springs, Ohio. He graduated from Miami University with a bachelor's degree in 1969 and earned a Juris Doctor from Ohio Northern University College of Law in 1972. After graduation, DeWine worked as an assistant prosecutor for Greene County and was elected county prosecutor, serving one term. He continued his political career in the Ohio Senate in 1980. He served as a U.S. representative from 1983 until 1991. In 1991, he was sworn in as the 59th lieutenant governor of Ohio, under George Voinovich.

Nancy Elizabeth Hollister (née Putnam; born May 22, 1949) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Ohio. Hollister was the first and, to date, only female governor of Ohio, serving briefly from December 1998 to January 1999.

Hollister attended Kent State University, and upon leaving college she became a housewife. She began her political career in the 1980s, becoming a member of the city council in Marietta and eventually winning the position of mayor. In 1994, George Voinovich picked her as his candidate for Lieutenant Governor, and she served from 1995 to 1998. After a failed congressional bid in 1998, she succeeded Voinovich as Governor after he resigned to become a U.S. Senator. She served as Governor for 11 days, taking few political actions during her brief tenure.