On May 1, 1901, after serving only four months as Governor of Nebraska, Charles H. Dietrich resigned from being governor as he had been elected by the Nebraska Legislature to fill the vacant U.S. Senate term of Monroe L. Hayward, who had died. Thus, Ezra P. Savage, the lieutenant governor elected in 1900, became the Governor of Nebraska. After the elevation of Savage to Governor, Calvin F. Steele was considered the Acting Lieutenant Governor due to his position as president pro tempore of the Nebraska Senate based on Article V, Section 18, of the Nebraska Constitution.[14] Thus, in the 1915 Nebraska Blue Book and the 1918 Nebraska Blue Book, Steele is listed as having served as lieutenant governor, even replacing any mention of Savage's brief stint as lieutenant governor.[15][16]
^"As the campaign progresses". Saunders County Journal. October 20, 1898. p. 4. Retrieved June 17, 2023. Hon. E. A. Gilbert... is one of the strongest and ablest men in the ranks of the silver republicans and will be a worthy successor to Lieutenant Governor Harris.