In this race I traditionally make a suggestion you won’t find elsewhere.
Whether that makes me a genius or a fool is for you to decide.
My suggestion begins with the argument the office should be eliminated.
It has been largely a waste of time when the lieutenant governor and
the governor are compatible. When they are of opposite parties, the
chances for interference with good management of the executive
branch outweigh any advantageous service the lieutenant might render.
Political parties and voters do not choose lieutenant governors for
their ability to succeed debilitated governors. In Missouri, the lieutenant
governor is a political appendage we could do without.
Having gotten nowhere with this idea, I resort to the next-best idea:
The governor and lieutenant governor should run as a team, as in
the federal system. The advantages are obvious. The two can work
in tandem to further the initiatives voters support. A succeeding
lieutenant governor can be expected to continue the policies and
practices of his former partner.
Careful observers of the scene will notice I also have failed to get
anywhere with this idea, so finally I settle on a suggestion that can
work if voters cooperate: choosing the lieutenant governor of the
same party as the governor.
At least this is an informal way to put a politically compatible team
in office. Since the two arrive on the ballot by disparate routes, one
can’t be sure they are of the same mind, but the chances are better
than if the two top candidates are from opposing parties.
So there it is. Eric Greitens and Mike Parson vs. Chris Koster and
Russ Carnahan, the Republican team or the Democratic team.
PS: I’m for Koster for governor and, according to the Hank doctrine
outlined above, will dutifully choose his partisan mate for lieutenant
 governor.