Editorial

Let's look at choosing lieutenant governor

Even though it isn't on the front burner right now in the Missouri Legislature, a proposal to have the candidates for Missouri's governor and lieutenant governor run as a team is likely to get serious consideration before the current session ends.

This is not a new idea. It has been debated before. One proposal is to amend the Missouri Constitution to allow a party's candidate for governor to pick a running mate. Both would then run as a team on the November ballot -- like the president and vice president candidates and like the governor and lieutenant governor candidates in 23 other states.

Any plan to change the way the lieutenant governor is chosen will require a change in the constitution. And that's something voters would have to approve. There seems to be a lot more right about this idea than there is wrong. Both of the top state officials would be elected by the people in November.

Comments