If area newspapers decided Virginia’s upcoming gubernatorial race, Republican candidate Jerry Kilgore would take the cake 2-1. Now, if one placed additional weight on a paper’s circulation, Democratic candidate Tim Kaine would have enough votes to rule unchallenged for the next 30 years. Either way, newspapers don’t decide elections, but they do offer up editorial endorsements.

And endorsed they have! With Virginia voters heading to the polls on November 8 in an election that has been closely fought and may have national repercussions, the area’s three largest newspapers — the D.C. Examiner, the Washington Times, and the Washington Post — have issued their definitive opinions on who should occupy the governor’s office in Richmond for the next four years. Both the Examiner and the Times endorsed Kilgore, while the Post sided with Kaine. This really isn’t much of a surprise — the Post tends liberal, the Times conservative, and the Examiner just seems to flip a coin.

Regarding Kaine, the Post issued a relatively uninspired endorsement, weighing both candidates’ pros and cons and concluding:

In the end, the race may have been dispiriting, but the choice is easy. Mr. Kaine has the potential to be a remarkable governor — a responsible, forward-thinking, unifying, principled politician with brains, guts and know-how.

The Times, though, does away with all pretenses of balance, fawning over Kilgore while trying to paint Kaine as a northeastern liberal elite who has a tendency to flip-flop on the issues:

The Democrat, Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine, isn’t steadfast…[he] has a disconcerting tendency to talk out of both sides of his mouth. By every measure, we know where Mr. Kilgore stands. He is the superior candidate.

The Examiner, the new kid on the block, criticizes both campaigns for their dirty tactics. In the end, though, it weighs in for Kilgore, outlining his superior grasp of taxes, transportation, public safety, illegal immigration, and education:

But simplistic ads are mere distractions, and as the long campaign comes to a merciful end, the choice is clear: On key issues ranging from taxes to transportation to public safety and immigration, Kilgore is by far the better candidate.

Of course, the link between editorial endorsements and voter choice is a tenuous one. There probably aren’t many Post-reading conservatives who will suddenly jump ship to Kaine’s camp, much less will any Democrats take what the Times or the Examiner has to say as solid advice. At best, these candidates can consider the endorsements their last campaign ads, the last chance to reach those undecided voters who give campaign consultants ulcers. At worst, the endorsements just serve as a great way to see newspapers snipe at each other.

And now that we’re talking endorsements, DCist votes Lyndon LaRouche every time, whether he’s running or not. Maybe it’s his professionally-produced campaign materials, maybe his approachable and engaging campaign staff. Either way, LaRouche for Virginia in 2005.