Gov. Kim Reynolds named Sen. Chris Cournoyer as her new lieutenant governor Monday, filling the role that was left open since former Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg resigned from the position in September.
The governor said Cournoyer, a LeClaire Republican who has served as a state senator since 2019, was her choice after months of consideration because of her work on issues like education and technology.
“Her first instinct isn’t just to wonder ‘why’ something isn’t working right or to complain, it’s actually to get in there and fix the problem herself,” Reynolds said. “She takes responsibility, she gets her hands dirty and she does the work. And the people of Iowa couldn’t ask for more in a lieutenant governor, and neither can I.”
Cournoyer took the oath of office Monday, administered by Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen, officially taking the position as lieutenant governor. She thanked Reynolds for appointing her to the position, and said she was ready to help serve the state from the executive branch.
“It’s an honor, and somewhat surreal, to be standing at this podium as Iowa’s lieutenant governor,” Cournoyer said. “… This is a humbling responsibility for me, and Iowans can be confident that I will always approach it with the seriousness that it deserves. That’s why I want to thank you, Governor. Reynolds, for placing your trust in me.”
In addition to serving in the Iowa Senate, Cournoyer was formerly president of the Pleasant Valley Community School District School Board, member of Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and previously worked as a senior consultant in the technology division of the Chicago-based Andersen Consulting — a firm that later became Accenture.
Reynolds praised Cournoyer’s experience in these roles, saying she will play an important role as lieutenant governor in tackling issues like artificial intelligence and expanding STEM opportunities in Iowa schools.
“Chris’ qualifications go far beyond an impressive resume,” Reynolds said at the news conference held in the governor’s office Monday. “In fact, I believe they get to the heart … of what it takes to be a lieutenant governor. 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.”
Cournoyer will serve as Reynolds’ second-in-command for the remainder of the governor’s current term of office, until 2026 — the time of the next Iowa gubernatorial election. Though Reynolds has not made any announcement regarding another reelection campaign, she is expected to run for another term in the next election.
Cournoyer took the oath of office Monday, administered by Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen, officially taking the position as lieutenant governor. She thanked Reynolds for appointing her to the position, and said she was ready to help serve the state from the executive branch.
“It’s an honor, and somewhat surreal, to be standing at this podium as Iowa’s lieutenant governor,” Cournoyer said. “… This is a humbling responsibility for me, and Iowans can be confident that I will always approach it with the seriousness that it deserves. That’s why I want to thank you, Governor. Reynolds, for placing your trust in me.”
Iowa Republicans and state leaders sent congratulations to Cournoyer for her appointment to the position. Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver released a statement Monday saying Cournoyer had “proven herself over the last 6 years as a smart, capable conservative” as a member of the Iowa Senate Republicans.
“During her tenure in the Iowa Senate, she was a leading advocate for legislation to secure Second Amendment rights, protections for law enforcement, historic income tax relief, and every other common sense conservative priority the Senate has advanced,” Whitver said. “She will be missed, but I am happy for her and I look forward to watching her succeed in her new role as Lieutenant Governor.”
Alongside her role in the gubernatorial line of succession, the lieutenant governor is also assigned duties by the governor. For Gregg, that meant initiatives like the Empower Rural Iowa Initiative.
Gregg, who became the Iowa Bankers Association’s president and CEO in September after resigning as lieutenant governor, said that he chose to leave public office to spend more time with his family. He had held the position since Reynolds took office in 2017 after former Gov. Terry Branstad vacated the governor seat to serve as U.S. ambassador to China during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office.
When Gregg was appointed to serve as the state’s executive second-in-command by Reynolds in May 2017, his role was limited. Former Attorney General Tom Miller issued a legal opinion in 2017 that Reynolds had technically not vacated her position as Branstad’s lieutenant governor when she ascended to the governorship, meaning that she could not formally appoint her own lieutenant governor. Gregg did not officially take the position until he and Reynolds won reelection in 2018.
Reynolds did not face the same challenges appointing a person to fill Gregg’s position in 2024, as Reynolds, who won reelection in 2022, has the power as governor to fill the vacancy for the remainder of her term. Additionally, Iowans approved a constitutional amendment in the 2024 general election that changed language in the Iowa State Constitution to clarify that a vacancy is created in the lieutenant governor’s position when a lieutenant governor takes the position of governor.
The largest difference in being officially appointed to the lieutenant governor’s position lies in the gubernatorial line of succession. When Gregg held the position unofficially prior to the 2018 election, Whitver, then-Senate president, would have become governor if Reynolds vacated the governor’s office at that time. For the past few months without a sitting lieutenant governor, Senate president Amy Sinclair has been next in line to serve as Iowa governor.
Reynolds will need to call a special election to fill Cournoyer’s seat in the Iowa Senate. The governor’s office has not yet shared details about their plans to fill the vacancy.
