NBC Washington reports that former Virginia attorney general Bob McDonnell is the official Republican option for governor of the Commonwealth. McDonnell, who accepted the nomination yesterday, faced no contestant in his bid to represent the GOP. This puts him at a comparative advantage to any of the three Democratic primary candidates — State Senator Creigh Deeds, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, and former House of Delegates Democratic Caucus leader Brian Moran — who will need to wail on one another while resisting attacks from McDonnell. As the hilariously named Not Larry Sabato observes, it’s unusual to see a fierce contest for the Democratic nomination in Virginia. A sign of changing political tides in the firmly purplish state? Is Virginia too changed for a Republican to win against an undecided Democratic convention?