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Virginia Gubernatorial Hopefuls Differ on School Policy

Statewide preschool, teacher merit pay lead competing plans.

Virginia voters say education is one of their top election issues in this fall’s race for governor.

But with less than a month to go before Election Day, it’s hard to tell if Democratic candidate Timothy M. Kaine’s plan for universal prekindergarten or Republican Jerry W. Kilgore’s proposal for teacher merit pay have energized the voters they want to woo.

The contest between Mr. Kaine, the lieutenant governor, and Mr. Kilgore, a former Virginia attorney general, is itself still too close to call, according to many polls. Transportation and taxes—two other big topics for state voters—dominated the questions during the only statewide televised debate between the two candidates. Out of more than 30 rapid-fire questions posed in the Oct. 9 event, only one dealt...