Race for Virginia governor could hinge on women
In the race's waning days, Cuccinelli is essentially silent in paid television ads.
He plans to urge supporters to tell their neighbors, especially women, that he's a better candidate for them. The former state senator talks about his wife and daughters at every chance, and how he formed the first sexual assault-prevention group when he was an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, after his roommate was a victim.
But time is running out. He's facing a massive deficit on campaign advertising, and he was outspent by a margin of 25-to-1 for most of the week. A late-week ad buy cut in that, making it a 10-1 margin.
Polls show major hurdles with female voters. A Quinnipiac University poll last week found women backing McAuliffe by 50 percent to 37 percent. An earlier Washington Post poll showed Cuccinelli trailing among women, 34 percent to 58 percent.
McAuliffe has seized upon Cuccinelli's legislative record involving issues closely watched by women, from reproductive health and abortion to Cuccinelli's opposition to no-fault divorce. In advertising, McAuliffe has used these issues to argue that Cuccinelli would try to interfere in the private lives of voters.
Cuccinelli has opposed abortion unless a mother's life is at risk. As attorney general, he forced the state's Board of Health to reverse a decision last year to exempt existing abortion clinics from a new law that required them to meet the same architectural standards as new hospitals.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/race-virginia-governor-could-hinge-women