DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed state Sen. Chris Cournoyer to be her lieutenant governor Monday, more than three months after her first and only No. 2 in elected office resigned to take over the state bankers association.
Cournoyer was elected to the Iowa Senate in 2018 and has a background in technology, having earned a computer science degree, done website design and worked for a tech company. In the Senate, she chaired the Education Budget Committee and was vice chair of the State Government Committee.
“She has the character, judgement, and ability needed to serve as governor in case I were ever unable to — qualities that also make her ideally suited to support our work on a day-to-day basis,” Reynolds said in a statement. “I can’t wait to deploy Chris’ extensive experience on key legislative committees, including Ways and Means, and expertise in technology, innovation, and artificial intelligence on a wide range of issues important to Iowans.”
Cournoyer is is from LeClaire, in eastern Iowa.
Reynolds’ initial running mate, Adam Gregg, resigned his position Sept. 3 after serving more than seven years in office, saying that “my time in public service must come to a close.” The Iowa Bankers Association on the same day announced Gregg as its incoming president and CEO.
Reynolds described Gregg as “a tremendous partner.”
Iowa law states that the governor must appoint someone to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term.
Reynolds told reporters in early October that she would make a decision on Gregg’s successor after the 2024 election, and the end-of-the-year rollout will allow Cournoyer a few weeks to settle in before joining Reynolds at her annual condition of the state speech after the legislative session begins in January.
“We want to get it right, you know, not only for the team, but for Iowans, and so I want to be very thoughtful in how I do that,” Reynolds said in October.
Up for reelection in 2026, Reynolds will likely be joined by Cournoyer on the ballot if she chooses to run again.
Reynolds, who was former Gov. Terry Branstad’s lieutenant governor, became governor in 2017 when Branstad was named U.S. ambassador to China. She was elected to a full term in 2018 and was reelected in 2022.
Reynolds in 2017 had named Gregg as her “acting” lieutenant governor after her own promotion. That followed legal questions over whether the Iowa Constitution gave an elected lieutenant governor the authority to appoint her replacement if she needed to step in as governor in the event the elected governor dies, resigns, or was removed from office. Until their inauguration in 2019, Gregg was left out of the line of succession.
In November’s election, Iowa voters approved a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to explicitly allow for that appointment.
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