Creigh Deeds, the Democratic nominee for the Virginia governorship, has received the endorsement of the editorial page of the Washington Post — the same organ that helped him win the Democratic primary in June.

Though the endorsement was not a surprise — the Post editorial page more often than not backs Democratic candidates for governor and other major office — and its impact on the Nov. 3 vote could be minimal. Deeds’ campaign and his Democratic allies moved quickly to publicize it as is tries to overcome a longstanding deficit in the polls to Republican nominee Bob McDonnell barely two weeks before the election.

The Post endorsement appeared in Sunday’s paper, but first hit the paper’s Web site Saturday night, when it was circulated to reporters in rapid succession by Deeds’ campaign, the Democratic National Committee (which is headed by outgoing Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine ), and the Democratic Governors Association.

The Post endorsement praised Deeds and blasted McDonnell on the issue of improving Virginia’s transportation infrastructure, a major issue in populous, traffic-clogged northern Virginia and around the state.

Deeds has promised to convene a commission of state legislators, business leaders and transportation experts immediately after his election, and has said he will sign a transportation plan even if it includes new taxes.

Deeds, the Post editorial said, “has the good sense and political courage to maintain the forward-looking policies of the past while addressing the looming challenge of fixing the state’s dangerously inadequate roads.”

McDonnell “offers something different: a blizzard of bogus, unworkable, chimerical proposals, repackaged as new ideas, that crumble on contact with reality,” the editorial said. “They would do little if anything to build a better transportation system.”

McDonnell has said that his transportation plan includes numerous funding sources — including privatizing state-run liquor stores — and Deeds’ plan necessarily would raise taxes.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business federation that is backing McDonnell, is airing a television ad criticizing Deeds for endorsing tax increases in a transportation plan.

The Post also noted Deeds’ support and McDonnell’s opposition to a 2004 overhaul of budget and tax policies that was brokered by Democratic Gov. Mark Warner and the state legislature, including some influential Republicans. McDonnell has said he opposed the measure because it increased some taxes.

The paper also said that Deeds has established a moderate record on social issues, while McDonnell “has staked out the intolerant terrain on his party’s right wing.”

The Post’s editorial page endorsed Deeds ahead of the June Democratic primary, which Democratic officials said helped Deeds garner support in northern Virginia and then soundly defeat rivals Terry McAuliffe, a former DNC chairman, and Brian Moran, a former state legislator.

Deeds is expected to defeat McDonnell in Democratic-leaning northern Virginia, though he’s hoping to ramp up larger vote margins there than current polls suggest.