By Zachary Gorchow
Executive Editor and Publisher
Posted: August 20, 2018 5:10 PM

Neither Bill Schuette nor Gretchen Whitmer appears to have done anything in the selection of their choice for lieutenant governor that could cost them the gubernatorial election.

And that, when it comes to winning the election, is the only factor that matters when selecting a running mate. Former Governor James Blanchard lost his 1990 re-election to John Engler by 17,000 votes for several reasons, but one of them surely was the mishandling of the replacement of then-Lt. Governor Martha Griffiths on the ticket. Ms. Griffiths, whom Mr. Blanchard feared was no longer up to the rigors of the job, spent the rest of the election cycle publicly castigating Mr. Blanchard.

That said, the roads to the selections of Lisa Posthumus Lyons as Mr. Schuette’s running mate and Garlin Gilchrist II as Ms. Whitmer’s had their share of bumps.

Let’s start with the Democrats since the campaign news of the day is Ms. Whitmer making her selection of Mr. Gilchrist official.

For a long time, up until the spring, it appeared Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon had the inside track as Ms. Whitmer’s running mate. Then he seemed to fall out of favor. Was it because he was openly telling people he was going to be the choice? One Democratic source said he did just that at an event in the spring, leaving the audience stunned. One would assume the Whitmer team was less than pleased. And while Mr. Napoleon could have countered the law-and-order resume of Mr. Schuette, the attorney general and former Court of Appeals judge, he also had some baggage from his days as Detroit police chief.

Ms. Whitmer was boxed in by the Democratic choices for attorney general and secretary of state, both of whom are white, at the party’s April endorsement convention. The party has had an African-American on the ticket every gubernatorial cycle for one of the big four constitutional offices since 1970.

Mr. Gilchrist’s name began showing up on watch lists months ago, and the reaction outside of Detroit probably was something akin to “Garlin who?” He’s the first lieutenant governor candidate since 1978 not to have any prior experience in elected office and at 35 is a relative newcomer to the state political scene. But as a young, progressive Detroiter who is African-American with a background in technology, he adds some qualities the Whitmer campaign thinks can help the cause.

For a time, one of the names getting the most buzz in Democratic circles was state Sen. Vincent Gregory of Lathrup Village. A former U.S. Marine who fought in the Vietnam War who later was a detective in the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and is widely liked, the main knock against him was he is not from Detroit. But then he got routed in his bid for the 35th House District, finishing a distant third in the Democratic primary. That result, coming after the 2014 cycle when he nearly lost renomination for his Senate seat, appeared to remove Mr. Gregory from contention.

And for as much emphasis as Ms. Whitmer has put on her experience in state government, Mr. Gilchrist has none. He has experience in the city of Detroit government as a technology director, but if Mr. Gilchrist ever did ascend to the governorship, he would not have what Ms. Whitmer called crucial last year. “We’re hiring someone to run state government. Knowing what that means and what it takes and what it does is a crucial part of my experience that sets me apart,” she said.

Some unpaid late fees Mr. Gilchrist’s city clerk committee had as a result of filing two reports after the election have become fodder for Republicans to attack the pick. The Whitmer campaign says he paid the fees over the weekend, but it’s surprising the issue was not resolved much sooner given how long Mr. Gilchrist’s name has been in the running mate conversation.

Turning to the Republicans, the choice of Ms. Lyons came amid a widespread sense among Republicans that Plan A was Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller and Plan B was Rep. Laura Cox of Livonia. Ms. Miller is a popular figure statewide and especially in southeast Michigan. Ms. Cox is a popular figure in the northwest Wayne County suburbs that figure to be a bellwether on who wins the governor’s race.

Ms. Lyons’ name began emerging relatively late and while the factors she brings to the ticket are clear – a track record of winning office in Kent County, which has been slipping as a Republican bulwark; gender and age balance with Mr. Schuette; and legislative and executive experience as a member of the House and now Kent County clerk – there’s one big contrast she has with Mr. Schuette.

From the time Lt. Governor Brian Calley jumped into the race, Mr. Schuette made the contest mainly about one issue – Mr. Calley unendorsed President Donald Trump in the waning days of the 2016 election and Mr. Schuette remained behind Mr. Trump’s campaign. Mr. Schuette hit Mr. Calley time and again on “abandoning” Mr. Trump and emphasized Mr. Trump had endorsed him.

But like Mr. Calley, who withdrew his endorsement of Mr. Trump after the revelation of the “Access Hollywood” video in which Mr. Trump is overheard boasting of being able to grope women “by the p-ssy” and get away with it because of his star status, Ms. Lyons similarly lambasted Mr. Trump. She said he had neither earned her respect nor her vote. And last week, Ms. Lyons would not say whether she voted for Mr. Trump, only that she supports Mr. Trump now. Mr. Schuette sidestepped questions about how he could name Ms. Lyons after pillorying Mr. Calley for months on the Trump question.

The choice has rankled some Republican activists who see anything other than staunch support for Mr. Trump as betrayal and raised questions about how she will be received at this weekend’s Republican convention.

So the “Loot Guv” speculation has concluded for this cycle, bringing to an end one of the Capitol community’s favorite parlor games.

While it wasn’t a straight line toward the Gilchrist and Lyons picks, both fill needs for their tickets and will fade into the background like running mates generally do for the duration of the campaign. At the very least, neither Mr. Schuette nor Ms. Whitmer should have a Griffiths-esque figure slamming them publicly on a regular basis over the choice.