Hopefuls' running mate may be just the ticket

Over the past several weeks Utahns have watched the Republican gubernatorial candidates pick their lieutenant governor running mates.

Before Mike Leavitt and Olene Walker, one could say such picks didn't amount to much in the long run.

But Leavitt's resignation last November, to take a job in President Bush's administration, and then-Lt. Gov. Walker's ascent to the top job, changed how people look at lieutenant governors.

Until 2003, in Utah's history no governor had ever died in office or resigned. So no lieutenant governor (or before the name change, secretary of state) had ever stepped up to chief executive.

For years, the governor and secretary of state were elected separately. And sometimes the men were even of different political parties.

In any case, I can't remember a time when the lieutenant governor, or secretary of state, became the heir apparent and won the top job on his own when the boss left office.

Yes, in recent years the lieutenant governorship was seen as a launching pad. Former Gov. Norm Bangerter's eight-year lieutenant governor, Val Oveson, considered running for several offices as the Bangerter administration wound down. In the end, Oveson didn't run, and he became first a state tax commissioner, then a federal IRS official, and is now back in Utah as the state's top tech officer.

Former Lt. Gov. David Monson did win a U.S. House seat but retired after only one term.

But Walker became governor via her lieutenant governor post. And that reality, I'm told, was part of the thinking as the GOP governor candidates this year went about their picks.

While all of the running-mate choices may very well be able to be governor if circumstances warrant, I believe more mundane motives were also at play. Mainly, how can this person help get me out of the May 8 state Republican convention?

Nolan Karras, a refreshingly honest politician, says as much. "I needed a bump with the delegates," he told the Deseret Morning News editorial board this week. And so he picked former U.S. congresswoman, now state Republican Party vice chairwoman, Enid Greene.

The Greene pick is controversial for those who follow Utah politics. But she, like some of the other running-mate choices, has a following among GOP loyalists. "I decided to roll the dice" to see if Greene could bring some energy, some buzz, as the new term goes, to his candidacy, says Karras.