Reynolds names LeClaire state senator as lieutenant governor

Cournoyer, 54, from LeClaire, was sworn in Monday as Iowa’s 48th lieutenant governor during a ceremony in the Governor’s Formal Office at the Iowa Capitol. Cournoyer, a Republican like Reynolds, had been serving in the Iowa Senate since 2019.

She succeeds former Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, who abruptly resigned in early September to become the incoming president and chief executive officer of the Iowa Bankers Association. The association advocates for, provides resources to and lobbies on behalf of Iowa banks.

“It’s an honor and somewhat surreal to be standing at this podium as Iowa’s lieutenant governor,” Cournoyer said Monday. “I never planned on entering public office, let alone imagine 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 that I will always approach it with the seriousness that it deserves.”

Cournoyer was sworn in by Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen. Reynolds, Iowa’s first female governor, appointed Christensen to the court in 2018.

Neither Reynolds nor Cournoyer took questions from reporters after the ceremony.

Iowa voters in November passed a state constitutional amendment that clarifies that an appointed — rather than elected — lieutenant governor is first in line in the succession order. While the position was vacant, next in the gubernatorial line of succession was Iowa Senate President Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton.

Reynolds has two years remaining on her current term. She will be up for reelection in 2026. She has not yet said whether she will seek another term.

With Cournoyer’s appointment, she and Reynolds form the state’s first-ever all-female governor and lieutenant governor leadership duo.

“First and foremost, she’s someone that I would trust to serve as governor if I were ever unable to. I have complete confidence in her character, her judgment and her ability,” Reynolds said Monday. “It’s these same qualities that also make her ideally suited to serve as a member of my team, where she’ll support our work on a wide range of policy priorities, often drawing on her knowledge of technology and innovation. …

“It’s exciting to think about all of the ways that we can utilize Chris’ experience in her new role.”

Cournoyer will be paid $103,000, the salary for the position set by the Iowa Legislature.

Cournoyer resigned from her Iowa Senate seat, a Senate Republican spokesman confirmed Monday. Cournoyer had two years remaining in her second, four-year term. She represented Iowa Senate District 35, which covers Clinton County as well as slices of northern Scott and southwestern Jackson counties.

A special election will be held to fill the seat vacated by Cournoyer’s move. The governor sets special election dates. A spokesman for the governor said there was no information yet on that special election date.

Cournoyer will be Reynolds’ second lieutenant governor. Reynolds was herself Iowa’s lieutenant governor from 2011 to 2017 under then-Gov. Terry Branstad. She ascended to the governor’s office when Branstad was tabbed as U.S. ambassador to China.

Reynolds selected Gregg, who had been serving as the state’s public defender. He served as lieutenant governor from 2017 to earlier this year.

During her remarks Monday, Cournoyer recalled the first time she met Reynolds, in 2015, when Reynolds was lieutenant governor. Reynolds spoke at an event in Davenport to encourage girls to engage in science, technology, engineering and mathematics — commonly known as STEM — classes and programs.

“Having someone of (Reynolds’) stature in attendance was a big win for us, and I was even more excited when I heard her speak on a subject that I cared so deeply about,” Cournoyer said. “She spoke with passion and understanding about how a new, hands-on, work-based learning paradigm could modernize our economy while reaching underserved students of all stripes. And just as importantly, she had bold ideas for making it happen.”

In addition to serving in the Iowa Senate, Cournoyer has worked as a website designer, a substitute teacher and as a reserve deputy for the Scott County Sheriff’s Department. In the Senate, she served as chair of the Senate Technology Committee and vice chair of the State Government committee and an assistant majority leader. Previously, she chaired the subcommittee that writes the state’s education budget.

Cournoyer first won election to the Iowa Senate in 2018, flipping the seat to Republican control, and was reelected in 2022. Before that, she served on the Pleasant Valley School Board.

During her time in the Senate, Cournoyer has supported Reynolds’ priorities on tax cuts, education savings accounts, restrictions of content in schools and changes to Area Education Agencies. In recent years, Cournoyer has worked on legislation dealing with consumer data privacy, digital stalking, cybersecurity, public notices, vapor products and repealing gender balance for public boards and commissions.

During the run-up to the 2024 Republican Iowa presidential precinct caucuses, Cournoyer endorsed Republican presidential candidate and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. Reynolds endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Cournoyer was born in Dallas, Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. She has four children.

“She has one, final, central trait that I love, and that is she’s a doer. She gets in there and she wants to make a difference,” Reynolds said. “That’s the kind of person that Chris is. 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. 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.”

As lieutenant governor, Gregg led the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative, the Feeding Iowans Task Force in 2020 and the Governor’s FOCUS Committee on Criminal Justice Reform. The working group focused on recommendations to reduce recidivism through successful offender reentry.

Gregg, in his resignation letter to Reynolds, said he was stepping down to focus more on his family. Before serving as Reynolds’ first lieutenant governor, Gregg was the state’s public defender. He ran unsuccessfully for Iowa Attorney General in 2014.

The role of lieutenant governor is not statutorily defined in Iowa Code. Under the Iowa Constitution, the lieutenant governor performs duties assigned by the governor. Under Iowa law, the governor has the power to appoint a new lieutenant governor to fill a vacancy and serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.

Iowa voters last fall approved an amendment to the Iowa Constitution that clarified when a governor chooses a new lieutenant governor, that new lieutenant is endowed with all of the office’s constitutional authority, including being placed first in the line of succession to the governor.

Previously, the Iowa Constitution was unclear about an appointed, never-elected lieutenant governor’s authority. A formal opinion from then-Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller in 2017 said the state constitution did not place an appointed, never-elected lieutenant governor in the gubernatorial line of succession.

Sarah Watson of the Quad-City Times contributed to this report.