It isn’t often that WSLS covers an endorsement. Generally, these are non-news events with the expected groups lining up behind their party’s candidate.

As an example, we’d expect a teacher’s union to endorse the Democratic candidate for office or business groups like the Chamber of Commerce to endorse a Republican. Neither of those is particularly shocking and they generally don’t make news. That’s not to say the endorsements aren’t important to the campaigns, helping build name recognition, build grassroots support, and raise money. They’re just not always newsworthy.

However, Rep. Tom Perriello’s most recent endorsement does rise to the level of discussion. It’s from the NRA. The gun rights group generally endorses Republican candidates, who nationally have a stronger track record of supporting gun rights than national Democrats do. That of course isn’t always the case with Southern and more culturally conservative Democrats.

The Washington Post explained the NRA endorsement of Democratic candidates (according to the Post 58 Democrats have been endorsed by the NRA) in a recent article. Here’s an excerpt: “The endorsements aren’t the result of a sudden love for a party with which the NRA is often at odds. Rather, the powerful group adheres to what it calls “an incumbent-friendly” policy, which holds that if two candidates are equally supportive of gun rights, the incumbent gets the nod.”

And even, the Perriello campaign notes that the NRA gave an “A” rating to both Perriello and Robert Hurt, his Republican opponent.

But, that the NRA endorsed Perriello tells me two things. First, Perriello’s votes in Congress aren’t as liberal as some of the ads out there would lead you to believe. There’s no way he could get the NRA’s endorsement over a solid Republican candidate if he had voted against the interest of gun owners. It simply wouldn’t have happened.

Second, it tells me this race might be closer than some of the polls suggest (a SurveyUSA poll has Perriello’s challenger ahead by 23 points). Why else would the NRA wade into this race and endorse a Democrat that is certain to go down in defeat in November, only to anger the Republican who beat him?