“The lieutenant governor matters in two circumstances,” said Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. “The first one is when the Senate is evenly divided. The lieutenant governor also matters if something happens to the governor. But, short of that, you’re basically in the political on-deck circle.”

Virginia lieutenant governor’s race attracts a dozen candidates who want to lift role out of obscurity (Washington Post)