Virginia Gubernatorial Endorsements
The Washington Post has endorsed Democrat Creigh Deeds over Bob McDonnell for governor of Virginia.
The reaction among the Virginia blogosphere has been as expected. Republicans are "ho-hum, what did you expect?" Democrats are touting the positive words written by the Post editors and hoping it will help push Deeds over the top Nov. 3.
But two other endorsements earlier in the campaign have helped put McDonnell in the lead just over two weeks before Election Day.
Back in July, Sheila Johnson endorsed McDonnell. She's the co-founder of BET (Black Entertainment Television) and the second-largest donor to current Democratic governor Tim Kaine.
Her endorsement came as quite a shock to Virginia Democrats, and McDonnell's lead in polls jumped to 14 points during August.
The next major endorser to stir the political waters was former governor Doug Wilder. Twenty years after becoming the first African-American governor in state history, his endorsement was passionately sought by both sides.
For weeks, we wondered how he would come down.
Finally, he endorsed no one - like he had done in many contests. But his statement contained enough questions about Deeds' stands on the issues to become a de facto nod toward McDonnell.
Virginia Democrats know they need a surge like last year to win this contest. But Creigh Deeds doesn't create the enthusiasm of Barack Obama. The question remains - will the Post endorsement overwhelm these important earlier endorsements?
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