Democratic gubernatorial candidate R. Creigh Deeds came to Richmond yesterday to talk about college education—and couldn’t resist the chance to grade Republican nominee Bob McDonnell’s controversial thesis. Meanwhile across town, McDonnell, with the help of Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, tried to tie Deeds to Democratic distress on national issues like health-care reform, union card-check legislation and federal capand-trade energy bills.

The Democratic candidates for governor talked unity yesterday, while Republicans went on the attack against new nominee R. Creigh Deeds. Flanked by the current governor and wearing the campaign stickers of the man who routed them in yesterday’s primary, Democrats Brian J. Moran and Terry McAuliffe pledged to unify behind Deeds and work to help him defeat Republican Bob McDonnell this November.

State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds scored a come-from-behind victory in the Democratic gubernatorial primary yesterday, setting up a rematch with Republican nominee Bob McDonnell. Deeds and McDonnell clashed in the race for attorney general in 2005. McDonnell won by 360 votes in the closest general election in Virginia history. Terry McAuliffe finished second, far behind Deeds and narrowly ahead of Brian J. Moran.

Brief power outages in Northern Virginia and a report of a gunman in Virginia Beach added drama to yesterday’s statewide Democratic primary. Otherwise, the day was marked by low turnout and little suspense once the polls closed. Returns soon showed that state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds and Jody M. Wagner won runaway victories to become the Democratic nominees for governor and lieutenant governor.

Polls close at 7 p.m. as voters make their choice in a hotly contested Democratic gubernatorial nomination contest.

Terry McAuliffe is training his guns on R. Creigh Deeds in the finale to tomorrow’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, saying Deeds’ pro-firearms stance makes him unelectable against Republican Bob McDonnell. Deeds, responding last night at a Richmond rally, said: “Terry McAuliffe’s just desperate. And it’s just sad.“ McAuliffe, in a phone interview yesterday after an appearance at a black church in Hampton Roads, also said Deeds is weak for the fall campaign because he has backed higher fuel taxes for transportation improvements.

The Democratic candidates for governor sprinted toward the tape yesterday, moving from radio appearances to get-out-the vote rallies and using automated phone calls and television ads to gain the attention of potential voters. Brian J. Moran, a former delegate from Alexandria, shook hands at a church picnic in Henrico County before visiting his Richmond campaign office to call undecided voters and thank volunteers buzzing in and out with yard signs and encouraging words.

On Tuesday, Democrats will pick their nominee for governor, ending a primary campaign distinctive, in part, for the candidates’ few clear distinctions on issues. State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds of Bath County, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe of McLean and former Del. Brian J. Moran of Alexandria offer variations on a theme in their plans to boost the economy and education.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine calls it Virginia’s “32-year curse.“ Virginia has followed eight consecutive presidential elections by electing a governor of the opposing party a year later. Most recently, Democrat Kaine’s 2005 victory came a year after the re election of President George W. Bush, a Republican. “I used to think that [trend] was a coincidence,“ Kaine said earlier this year. He said he now thinks it’s a sign of “buyer’s remorse.“

On Tuesday, Democrats will pick their nominee for governor, ending a primary campaign distinctive, in part, for the candidates’ few clear distinctions on issues.

Republican Bob McDonnell talked schools. Democrats who want to take him on for governor talked about each other. While McDonnell backed charter schools, the Democratic primary fight took another nasty turn yesterday, with Brian J. Moran sharply attacking Terry McAuliffe and R. Creigh Deeds. In a fresh television commercial just days ahead of Tuesday’s primary, Moran presses questions about the origins of McAuliffe’s personal fortune and demeans Deeds for favoring higher fuel taxes for roads.

Lifted by a new poll showing him creeping ahead after trailing for months, R. Creigh Deeds is flooding Northern Virginia with mail and phone calls, challenging his rivals for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination on their home turf. Terry McAuliffe of McLean and Brian J. Moran of Alexandria yesterday aimed new television commercials downstate and dashed through Richmond, seeking votes ahead of next Tuesday’s primary.

If money talks in politics, voters will be hearing a lot from the three Democratic candidates for governor during the next week. Perhaps Terry McAuliffe will be the loudest, with $1.2 million to spend in the countdown to next Tuesday’s primary. That trumps Brian J. Moran’s $707,000 cash balance and is about twice the nearly $522,000 held by R. Creigh Deeds.

In the final dash to the primary, one Democratic gubernatorial hopeful shopped for votes in a Richmond retail district. Another flooded mailboxes in Northern Virginia. The third dialed for dollars. Former Del. Brian J. Moran of Alexandria hit Carytown, telling small-business owners around a table in Jean-Jacques Bakery and Café that he, too, ran a small business and “had all the headaches that you do.“

Emphasizing jobs, Terry McAuliffe is extending his TV advertising to pricey Northern Virginia in the run-up to the Democratic gubernatorial primary. R. Creigh Deeds is retooling his advertising, weaving into a fresh spot on less costly downstate stations an editorial endorsement by The Washington Post that says the Bath County senator has the best chance of defeating Republican Bob McDonnell.