Robert Hurt

Hmmm. It’s looking like the National Rifle Association really will endorse Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Albemarle, over Republican challenger Robert Hurt.

First, Perriello announced earlier today that he “expected” to get the NRA endorsement next week — and it seems you sure wouldn’t announce that sort of thing in advance unless you were really certain it was a done deal.

About the same time as Perriello was saying that, Hurt released a letter from the NRA’s Virginia State Liaison in which the NRA praises Hurt as “a true friend of NRA members and Virginia’s gun owners.”

Warm words, to be sure, but it doesn’t say endorsement — and it’s the kind of letter one often sees when someone comes in a close second.

You can read the letter here: NRA Letter

So, what would an NRA endorsement of Perriello mean in the Fifth District? Also of note: Earlier this year, the NRA endorsed Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, in the Ninth.

Below is a running collection of links to previous coverage of the Fifth District race:

MORE ON THE 5TH DISTRICT RACE:
* Sept. 23: Perriello says he expects to receive NRA endorsement
* Sept. 23: What Perriello has to say on the small business bill Congress just passed
* Sept. 22: What Perriello has to say on the health care law
* Sept. 20: Overview of the current state of the 5th District race
* Sept. 17: Perriello talks up rural energy efficiency bill he co-sponsored
* Sept. 13: Perriello and Hurt face off in new TV ads
* Sept. 13: More about those polls in the 5th
* Sept. 8: More furor in the Fifth
* Sept. 7: New poll is out in the 5th District, but here’s why you shouldn’t necessarily believe it
* Sept. 2: Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball rates 5th District as toss-up
* Sept. 1: Tea Party bans media from meeting with Perriello
* Sept. 1: Politico story on Perriello’s courtship of the Tea Party
* Aug. 31: Why is Perriello meeting with the Tea Party?
* Aug. 31: Perriello vs. Geithner: Good idea or bad idea?
* Aug. 26: Robert Hurt’s TV ad