 The lieutenant governor is Mandela Barnes, a Democrat who took office on January 7, 2019.Until 1979, the Wisconsin Constitution merely stated that in the event of the governor's death, resignation, removal from office, impeachment, absence from the state or incapacity due to illness, "the powers and duties of the office [of Governor of Wisconsin] shall devolve upon the lieutenant governor".Lieutenant governors who served as governor during this period are referred to as "acting governors".