Today the two candidates for governor, Democrat Creigh Deeds and Republican Bob McDonnell make their direct appeals to Virginia voters.

He didn’t ask for this job. The job of chairman of the Democratic National Committee, that is. Now that he has it, six months later, even an outsider might understand why Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was somewhat reluctant to take it in the first place. He has been dogged by state Republican leaders, eager to find an opening in a pivotal state election year to reverse the tide of political success that has given Virginia Democrats control of the governor’s office, two U.S. Senate seats, the state’s House of Representatives delegation and the state Senate.

Veteran Republican’s move will push Democrats closer to total control of the U.S. Senate.

Former President Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker at the Democratic Party of Virginia’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner on Feb. 7. Party spokesman Jared Leopold said yesterday that the three Democratic gubernatorial candidates—former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe, former Del. Brian J. Moran of Alexandria and state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds of Bath County—also will speak. The candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general are expected to attend as well.

President-elect Barack Obama introduced Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine as the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee yesterday, saying the two men share a “pragmatic progressive” political philosophy.

The Richmond City Democratic Committee is preparing to vote tonight on an endorsement in the mayor’s race over objections from supporters of candidates William J. Pantele and Robert J. Grey Jr. The go-ahead for the vote—which brought out emotions from supporters and opponents of the decision—appeared to clear the way for the endorsement to fall to Dwight Clinton Jones, who received the committee’s backing in an unscheduled, controversial vote last month that was eventually overturned.