Richmond, Virginia (CNN) -- The Virginia governor's race, billed as the marquee battle of an otherwise anticlimactic 2013 election cycle, is shaping up to be a foregone conclusion. Democrat Terry McAuliffe, the longtime political fixer and moneyman, hasn't trailed in a poll since May. Barring a political miracle, Republican Ken Cuccinelli will be delivering a concession speech on Tuesday evening in Richmond. In recent cycles, the Virginia race has been a key off-year barometer of national political sentiment. Four years ago, Republican Bob McDonnell won in blowout fashion, a victory that presaged the following year's GOP midterm wave. In 2005, Democrat Tim Kaine captured the governor's mansion, tapping into anxiety about President George W. Bush's handling of the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina.
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Democrats made Ken Cuccinelli's conservative views on women's issues a focus
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Virginia governor's race is rare one in which Democrats are outspending Republicans
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Cuccinelli campaign hoping it can mobilize enough of its base to save victory
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Governor's race gave Bill and Hillary Clinton a gateway back into campaign politics
Polls show @placeholder slightly less supportive of Cuccinelli than Democrats are of McAuliffe.