Lt. Gov. role important, needs debate

Back in January, Gov. Terry Branstad predicted Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds would become governor once his time in office ended.

'She is next in line to be governor, I want to make sure that she is as well prepared,” Branstad said on Iowa Public Television. 'And I'd say she is probably already as well prepared as anybody ever has been to be governor.”

And yet, Branstad's re-election campaign won't allow Reynolds to debate her counterpart, Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Monica Vernon of Cedar Rapids. Democrats have called for a joint appearance between the two running mates, but Branstad's camp has flatly rejected the idea. As for the reasons, we can only guess. We can't come up with a single good one.

Branstad's campaign made the same questionable call in 2010, when it refused to permit a debate between Reynolds and then-Lt. Gov. Patty Judge. At that time, Reynolds said she was open to a debate.

Regardless of the reasons and political calculations, we think the governor is doing a disservice to his lieutenant, who appears alongside Branstad often and, by his own account, has taken a central, active role in his administration. Surely, with that experience under her belt, Reynolds would be willing to debate if the governor and his strategists would allow it.

And the fact is, one of these women will be one tragic moment away from becoming our governor. Iowans deserve to know much more about what they believe and how they would handle that transition. Branstad says Reynolds is well-prepared. Hatch has praised Vernon's abilities. But instead of taking their word for it, we'd like to see for ourselves how well-prepared they are to lead the state.

There's still ample time for Branstad's camp to reconsider. After the governor unilaterally dictated the sites of three gubernatorial debates with Hatch in Des Moines, Burlington and Sioux City, we'd like to see a lieutenant gubernatorial debate held somewhere in the 1st Congressional District. Waterloo, Dubuque and Cedar Rapids are populous possibilities, among others.

The last three Iowa governors have, to their credit, elevated the governing role played by their running mates. Thanks to those precedents, Iowans now expect more from lieutenant governors. That includes a public, televised debate on the issues.

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