Washington (CNN) -- The Virginia governor's race has often been looked to as an off-year barometer of national political sentiment. This year's grind-it-out race, an acrimonious spitball contest between two candidates only slightly more likeable than Walter White, is anything but. In a lesser-of-two-evils campaign, Terry McAuliffe, the longtime Democratic fundraiser and confidante to former President Bill Clinton, is clinging to a modest but sturdy lead over Republican Ken Cuccinelli, the state's attorney general. Republicans have pilloried McAuliffe as a sleazy political operator and failed businessman who exploited his Washington connections to help his sputtering car company, GreenTech Automotive. Cuccinelli has been targeted as a far-right social crusader who would curb abortion rights and access to contraception. Democrats on Twitter are fond of calling him #creepyken.
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Republicans look to retain governorship in battleground state
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Race between Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli is viewed by some as "lesser of two evils"
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Enter Robert Sarvis, a Libertarian candidate who has quietly crept up in the polls
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He says "the system is rotten" due to Republican and Democratic "malfeasance"
Terry McAuliffe
McAuliffe
Terry McAuliffe
@placeholder is hardly bulletproof: A federal investigation into GreenTech has sullied his reputation, and only two-thirds of Democrats -- his own party -- consider him "honest and trustworthy."
GreenTech Automotive
McAuliffe is hardly bulletproof: A federal investigation into @placeholder has sullied his reputation, and only two-thirds of Democrats -- his own party -- consider him "honest and trustworthy."
Terry McAuliffe
McAuliffe
Terry McAuliffe
While Republicans are slightly more fired up about voting for him than Democrats are for @placeholder, Cuccinelli's favorable ratings are next-to-toxic: More than half of likely voters view him unfavorably.
Terry McAuliffe
McAuliffe
Terry McAuliffe
In his telling, @placeholder "stands for an extreme version of crony capitalism."
Robert Sarvis
@placeholder might deny being a spoiler, but Cuccinelli's campaign conceded Thursday that the Libertarian is draining support from the Republican nominee.
Libertarian
Sarvis might deny being a spoiler, but Cuccinelli's campaign conceded Thursday that the @placeholder is draining support from the Republican nominee.
Ken Cuccinelli
Cuccinelli
Ken Cuccinelli
In response, Sarvis tapped into his meager campaign budget -- he reported having only $19,109 in the bank at the end of August -- to run a TV ad during the debate attacking McAuliffe's "cronyism" and @placeholder's "narrow-minded social agenda."