In their public speaking appearances, seldom do the three Democratic candidates for Virginia governor fail to mention fellow Virginia Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, whom the hopefuls are seeking to succeed in an election this year that begins with a Democratic primary on June 9.

Terry McAuliffe (Getty)

The three candidates — state Sen. Creigh Deeds , former state Rep. Brian Moran and ex-Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe — have repeatedly sought to link themselves to Warner, who was elected to a single term as governor in 2001 and is now a U.S. senator, and Kaine, who was elected governor in 2005 after serving as Warner’s lieutenant governor.

Warner and Kaine, who doubles as DNC chairman, haven’t endorsed a candidate and almost certainly will not, in keeping with the longstanding political tradition of high-ranking officeholders to not endorse in competitive primary elections. But that hasn’t stopped Deeds, Moran and McAuliffe from heaping Warner and Kaine — or from painting their opponents as insufficiently supportive of them.