How McAuliffe became the frontrunner: 8 turning points in the race for Virginia governor
By Ben Pershing, Published: November 4 | Updated: Tuesday, November 5, 6:00 AM
The race for Virginia governor has burned through more than $50 million, well over 50,000 television ads and a seemingly infinite number of negative attacks lobbed between the campaigns of businessman Terry McAuliffe (D) and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R).
But there were a handful of key turning points that helped bring the race to where it stands on Election Day — with McAuliffe the acknowledged frontrunner, ahead in every major poll for the last four months:
June 2012: Convention replaces GOP primary
Cuccinelli’s first significant win in the race for governor may also – depending on Tuesday’s outcome — have paved the way for him to lose.
Seventeen months before Election Day, Cuccinelli backers on the state Republican Party’s central committee overturned an earlier decision to hold a primary to pick the party nominee for governor. Instead, as many conservative activists in the state preferred, the GOP would hold a convention.
full article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/how-mcauliffe-became-the-frontrunner-8-turning-points-in-the-race-for-virginia-governor/2013/11/04/518b4afc-45ac-11e3-bf0c-cebf37c6f484_story.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
I think the real reason is that Cuccinelli is barking mad and the good people of the Commonwealth of Virginia see that fact.
It didn't help that he said he wants to outlaw oral sex. That may have been the tipping point. It certainly would have been for me and my ex-wife. 
I'm sure all the background noise the article's author brought up played an important part in Cuccinelli's sinking but, I think the author underestimated the impact of social issues on the campaign. At least, that's the way it appears to this Massachusetts resident. 
I guess I haven't had enough coffee this morning to state it as clearly as you did.
does that mean I didn't have enough coffee too? 