Placeholder (politics)

In politics, a placeholder is an official appointed temporarily to a position, with the understanding that they will not seek office in their own right.^[1]

The situation often occurs in cases where a United States senator dies in office or leaves before the expiration of their term. In most states, governors have the power to appoint a replacement temporarily, until a special election can be held. Governors interested in seeking the office may appoint themselves to the position; however, this may be seen by voters in a negative light as self-dealing and creating an undue advantage, and it may backfire leading to the new senator's defeat. To avoid this, the governor may instead select an aide to fill the slot for a few months, with the understanding that the appointee does not seek a full term. After the resignation of Senator Mel Martinez of Florida, Florida governor Charlie Crist appointed his chief of staff George LeMieux to the vacant Senate seat, which Crist ultimately ran for. A governor may appoint a placeholder even if they are not intending to run for the Senate themselves. Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts did this twice, appointing former Democratic National Committee chairman Paul G. Kirk in 2009 following the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, and chief of staff Mo Cowan in 2013 upon the resignation of Senator John Kerry to become United States Secretary of State. Occasionally, a former politician may be called out of retirement to serve as a temporary appointee, as occurred with Jon Kyl of Arizona in September 2018. Kyl had served three terms in the U.S. Senate, from 1995 until his retirement in 2013, but was appointed as a placeholder by Arizona governor Doug Ducey following the death in office of incumbent John McCain.

Placeholders may also be used in cases where more than one member of a party is interested in seeking the office, and the governor does not wish to choose between competing members of their own party. Placeholders may also be appointed when a senator leaves office while a campaign for the seat is already underway, so as not to affect the outcome of the election. For example, after the death of Senator Paul Wellstone in 2002 just weeks before election day, Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura appointed Dean Barkley to serve, as Barkley was not running for the office, and his appointment would not affect the election.

Historically, in cases where a politician died in office, a variation known as widow's succession was sometimes followed, where the deceased politician's widow was appointed to the seat as a placeholder.