Gov. Kim Reynolds has appointed Chris Cournoyer lieutenant governor. The LeClaire Republican was in her second term in the Iowa Senate, representing District 35 — which covers Clinton County, as well as parts of Scott and Jackson counties — when she was selected for her new position.
Chief Justice Susan Christensen administered the oath of office to the new lieutenant governor immediately after Reynolds announced Cournoyer during a special event in the governor’s office on Monday morning. The 54-year-old Cournoyer is the state’s 48th lieutenant governor.
Cournoyer’s appointment made Iowa history, giving the state both a female governor and lieutenant governor for the first time. Iowa now joins Massachusetts, where Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll fill those roles, and Arkansas, where Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Leslie Rutledge serve as governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. Healey and Driscoll are Democrats, Huckabee Sanders and Rutledge are Republicans.
Currently, there are 12 female governors, eight Democrats and four Republicans, and 23 female lieutenant governors, 13 Democrats and 10 Republicans.
The position of lieutenant governor had been open since Sept. 3, when then-Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg announced his resignation, effective immediately. Gregg quit to become president and CEO of the Iowa Bankers Association.
“It’s an honor, and somewhat surreal, to be standing at this podium as Iowa’s lieutenant governor,” Cournoyer said after being sworn in.
Cournoyer wasn’t the only one feeling surprised on Monday morning. Two weeks ago, the Gazette’s well-connected Des Moines Bureau Chief Erin Murphy published a story on who Reynolds would likely pick for the number two position. Murphy “interviewed more than two dozen people with working knowledge of the Iowa Capitol.” None of them mentioned Cournoyer.
Murphy said there was no consensus on the most likely candidate, but “many of the sources said they have heard or have reason to believe Reynolds’ choice will come from outside government and politics. It will not, those sources believe, be a current elected official or state agency head.”
Chris Cournoyer was first elected to the state Senate in 2018. She was reelected in 2022. Before that, Cournoyer had served as president of the Pleasant Valley Community School District School Board and as a member of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council.
Cournoyer was born in Texas and earned a degree in computer science from the University of Texas. After working as a technology consultant for Andersen Consulting, she started her own business as an independent website designer and developer. She has also worked as a substitute teacher and a reserve sheriff’s deputy in Scott County.
“Chris’ qualifications go far beyond an impressive resume,” Reynolds said on Monday. “… First and foremost, she’s someone that Iowans can trust to serve as governor if I were ever unable to. I have complete confidence in her character, her judgment and her ability. It’s these same qualities that also make her ideally suited to serve as a member of my team.”
“I never planned on entering public office,” Cournoyer said, speaking after being sworn in, “let alone that I would ever be second-in-line to Iowa’s succession. In other words, this is a humbling responsibility for me. And Iowans can be confident I will always approach it with the seriousness that it deserves.”
Reynolds’ selection of Cournoyer was uniformly praised by Iowa Republicans, including her former state Senate colleague, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who called Cournoyer “dedicated, intelligent, hard-working, tech savvy and an excellent choice.”
Miller-Meeks has a unique reason to be grateful to the new lieutenant governor. When Miller-Meeks was running for a second term in 2022, she registered to vote using Cournoyer’s family home in LeClaire as her primary residence, with Cournoyer’s permission.
Miller-Meeks’ actual home was in Ottumwa, where she has lived with her husband for decades. Ottumwa, however, was not in the 1st Congressional District. Miller-Meeks had said she would move to the 1st District before the election, but decided to just register to vote at Cournoyer’s address instead.
