More lieutenant governors are succeeding and becoming governors this year than in recent history - think Alaska, Utah, Illinois - prompting renewed attention to just who the lieutenant governors are, and whether they're ready to govern. Idaho's Brad Little says Gov. Butch Otter is training him as his "B team," involving him in cabinet meetings and keeping him up to date so he'd be prepared. He says if a lieutenant governor hasn't been involved and suddenly becomes governor, "I don't think the state would be well-served." Washington's Brad Owen, who's made his own focus in office on youth programs and international trade, says it'd be "exciting" to become governor if he didn't have to run, because campaigns are so nasty. You can read my full story here in today's Spokesman-Review.

---

---