WHO WILL FILL THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR'S SPOT ON THE TICKET?

In Florida, the lieutenant governor is not elected as a seperate candidate; he or she runs in tandem with the gubernatorial candidate who picks him/her much as the president/vice president team. And with four white middle-aged men as the major players, they may all be feeling a slight bit of pressure to provide some diversity to the ticket by choosing a woman or person of colour.

According to The Buzz, the St. Petersburg Times political blog, Attorney General and GOP gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist feels that he's in good enough shape to begin a formal, in depth system to pick his running mate. While he says he has not approached anyone directly, a couple of names are being tossed about in the rumour mill:

Virginia Wetherell, a former House member from Pensacola who ran the state Department of Enviromential Protection under Lawton Chiles, is the spouse of Florida State University president T.K. Wetherell.

And State Representative Jennifer Carroll of Green Cove Springs is an African-American legislator who would help spotlight the GOP's efforts to attract people of colour into their fold. Ms. Carroll is also a retired lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy.

It's early in the process, and noone's talking now, so we'll watch and listen.