What? Another election, next Tuesday? Didn’t we just have one?

Even though most of us still have election fatigue from last year’s election, the Democratic Party primary elections for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General are now upon us. With only two statewide elections in the U.S. this fall, once again Virginia will be in the spotlight.

The most closely watched primary is for the nomination for Governor between former Del. Brian Moran from Arlington, former Democratic National Committee fundraiser Terry McAuliffe from McLean, and Sen. Creigh Deeds from Bath County.

“Closely watched” is a relative term as there has been scant coverage of the race outside the major newspapers. Historically such primaries have had very low turnout (3-4 percent), meaning that only the most activist voters bother to turn out.

There is no party registration in Virginia, meaning anyone can vote in this election. Republicans are free to vote for whom they perceive to be the weakest Democratic candidate. Ironically, for last year’s state Republican presidential primary, Republican party officials voted to require all voters to sign a Republican loyalty oath before voting. Thankfully, they rescinded that order before the election. Even if a Republican wanted to sway the election, that could present a difficult choice as McAuliffe, who has raised most of his money out of state leads in the polls, but I think is the one candidate who would unite the Republicans (against him) this fall.

Even though he trails in the polls, I predict a Deeds win if he can take away enough votes from the DC suburbs (thanks in part to the Washington Post endorsement) and clean up in the rest (read more conservative parts) of the state.

News about the Lt. Gov. and Attorney General races has been virtually nonexistent. Popcorn proprietor and former treasurer Jody Wagner will probably beat political strategist and rising star Mike Signer for Lt. Gov. Steve Shannon will easily win the AG nomination.

I always find it odd that Lt. Gov. candidates campaign on such comprehensive platforms considering how little power they wield. Another misconception is with the Attorney General’s office. The AG heads the commonwealth’s law firm. He’s not the state’s top law enforcement officer unlike the U.S. Attorney General that is the nation’s top cop.

The Republican slate is all set. Seven thousand delegates voted by acclamation for the three last Saturday at their party convention at the Richmond Coliseum, where guns were allowed in but bottled water wasn’t.

Once again, for Governor, Republicans tapped the sitting AG, this time Bob McDonnell (since resigned), who beat Creigh Deeds for the post in 2005 by 323 votes.

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling will run again for the same post, unlike governors who are not allowed to succeed themselves. Firebrand Fairfax Sen. Ken Cuccinelli is the party’s candidate for Attorney General.

McDonnell has indicated that he’ll downplay formerly popular Republican wedge issues such as gay marriage and abortion. In his first ads he doesn’t even mention the word “Republican.” But Republicans have history on their side as Virginians have not elected a governor whose party controlled the White House since 1966.

Of course, a lot depends on the popularity of President Obama as much as it does the two final gubernatorial candidates. But the proverbial elephant in the room for the Republicans is their demographic problem. The complexion of the delegates at last summer’s Republican National Convention was virtually all white. The pictures I’ve seen of last weekend’s Virginia Republican Convention looked much the same. The long-term outlook for Republicans is bleak if they only appeal to a demographic that is a declining percentage of the electorate.

Polls indicate a high percentage of undecideds for next Tuesday’s primary so anything is possible. If you want to learn more about the candidates start with the entry “Virginia 2009 election” at Wikipedia.com.