text: 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. 
  
  Not so this year. The McAuliffe-Cuccinelli race has been defined by small-bore issues and character attacks rather than sweeping national concerns. 
  
  But despite the lack of late fireworks, there are plenty of crucial insights to be gleaned from the Virginia campaign. 
  
  Here's what you need to know about this year's most important race: 
  
  1. The 2012 playbook is still potent for Democrats 
  
  McAuliffe isn't exactly squeaky-clean. A longtime wheeler-dealer who has been less than forthcoming with his tax returns, "the Macker" has a history of eyebrow-raising business ventures that make for dangerous campaign fodder. The opposition research book on the former Democratic National Committee chairman is as thick a Virginia live oak. 
  
  But Democrats have successfully turned the race into a referendum on Cuccinelli, defining him over the summer as a right-wing zealot. A Washington Post poll last week showed that two-thirds of McAuliffe supporters said they were voting against Cuccinelli, rather than for McAuliffe. 