Will endorsements decide GOP Supreme Court race?

Which carries more weight among Republican voters: The state GOP committee's endorsement or the backing of two of the state's biggest newspapers?

Three Republicans are running for the party's nomination to seek a vacant seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. All three are currently serving on the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

The state party is backing Judge Joan Orie Melvin. The other candidates are Judge Cheryl Lynn Allen and Judge Paul Panepinto.

All three candidates earned a "highly recommended" designation from the Pennsylvania Bar Association, but Allen has picked up key media endorsements

Allen is recommended by two of the state's leading liberal newspapers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Will the endorsements help or hurt Allen? We'll find out on May 19.

Allen has also been endorsed by LifePAC and Firearms Owners Against Crime.

Melvin has her own impressive list of endorsements including: PA Chamber of Business and Industry; PA State Troopers Association; PA State Corrections Officers Association and the NRA.

Panepinto is endorsed by LIFEPAC 2009 and the NRA.

The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Jack Panella, also a Superior Court judge, who is running unopposed.

For more on Allen, check out her campaign Web site.

For more on Melvin, check out her campaign Web site.

For more on Panepinto, visit his campaign Web site.