The GOP lacks a single unifying figure who appeals to every wing of the party. | AP Photos The demise of the GOP surrogate

Terry McAuliffe has had Hillary and Bill Clinton hit the trail for him, and President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are on their way.

Ken Cuccinelli will have Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal and Ron Paul stump for him the final week — all respected figures within segments of the GOP, but none in that league of high-wattage closers who guarantee huge crowds and generate massive free media coverage.


The striking contrast in surrogates in the home stretch of the Virginia governor’s race is another reminder of the GOP’s larger leadership vacuum and the civil war for the soul of a party still reeling from last year’s thrashing. Simply put, the party lacks a single unifying figure who appeals to every wing of the party, let alone matches the star power of the Clinton-Obama tandem.

Even former President George W. Bush, were he willing to re-engage in politics, is seen as a squish by much of the conservative base.

( PHOTOS: Ken Cuccinelli’s career)

The dynamic also speaks to Cuccinelli’s own brand of unapologetic conservatism, which has alienated many moderates and contributed to his stubborn deficit in the polls. The state attorney general has devoted the final weeks of the race to mobilizing true believers in what’s expected to be a low-turnout election on Tuesday.

“One thing I know Virginians don’t want, don’t need and sure as heck can’t afford, and that’s two Democrat parties,” Cuccinelli said at a party meeting last December in the wake of 2012 losses. “Virginia once again has an opportunity … to show the country that conservatism isn’t dead.”

Besides having been massively outspent by McAuliffe and hurt by the federal government shutdown, Cuccinelli faces yet another challenge in the final days of the race — the dearth of super-star surrogates. The latest Washington Post poll showed him down 12 percentage points, though Wednesday brought two outliers: Quinnipiac put McAuliffe up 4 percent and Roanoke College said he leads by 15 percent.

The outcome, even more than in a normal election, depends on which campaign turns out more of its parties’ base voters. More than 70 percent of eligible voters showed up in 2008 to vote for president, but turnout dropped off to 40 percent in the 2009 governor’s race.

Both sides believe that all the negative campaigning will keep many independents and otherwise low-propensity voters home. So they are leaning on surrogates to motivate partisans more than to persuade the undecided.

( PHOTOS: Republican 2016 contenders)

Bill Clinton campaigned Wednesday morning at a theater outside the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, one of three stops during his four-day tour aimed at galvanizing college students who showed up for Obama last year but are predisposed to stay in their dorm rooms. Other events focused on firing up union members or African-Americans, for instance.

Hillary Clinton, whose 2008 presidential campaign McAuliffe chaired, headlined an event aimed at women the weekend before last. Some 700 people packed into a theater to see the potential 2016 standard bearer.

Obama, meanwhile, will rally for McAuliffe at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington on Sunday. And Biden will lead another rally Monday morning in Annandale.

The Cuccinelli campaign argues that the Obama visit will help it nationalize the race and draw attention to the botched Obamacare rollout. It presents next week’s vote as a referendum on the health care law and whether to expand Medicaid in Virginia.

“In the final days of the campaign, Terry McAuliffe is joining President Obama and Vice President Biden for a celebration of Obamacare,” said communications director Richard Cullen. “What a party! Ken Cuccinelli, meanwhile, will be campaigning with conservative leaders in support of his plan to create 58,000 jobs and in opposition to the job crushing law.”

But both Clintons, along with the president and vice president, have the ability to excite the full spectrum of Democratic voters. They guarantee automatic coverage ahead of, during and after their visits from every local media outlet, as well as national press, in a way no Republican can.

Walker, the Wisconsin governor, will make two stops with Cuccinelli on Saturday. He is popular on the right for taking on unions in a blue state and then beating back a recall, but his trip risks giving Democrats an opening to argue that Cuccinelli will govern in a similarly divisive way. McAuliffe promises a bipartisan cabinet and a knack for deal-making.

Rubio will campaign with Cuccinelli at two events Monday. The Florida Republicanalready spoke at a small-dollar luncheon fundraiser in Richmond for Cuccinelli on Sept. 16, but it received minimal coverage because his speech happened just hours after the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. Some activists remain frustrated with Rubio for helping draft Senate immigration legislation that they believe includes amnesty.

Other Republicans who have come to Virginia to vouch for Cuccinelli speak to specific elements of the party. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) came this week to stop the bleeding of support to Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis. Former Sen. Rick Santorum, who won the Iowa caucuses in 2012 and appeals to social conservatives, is helping Cuccinelli this weekend with a get-out-the-vote “strike force” being arranged by his PAC. And Mitt Romney came last month to raise money but didn’t appear publicly with Cuccinelli.

Cuccinelli and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) both spoke at a gala dinner for the socially conservative Family Foundation in Richmond during the shutdown. But the candidate, wary of suffering even more collateral damage from the drama across the Potomac, avoided being photographed or appearing on stage with Cruz.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie might have the most notoriety of any potential GOP surrogate. But it’s hard to imagine him campaigning for Cuccinelli — they are different politicians, stylistically and ideologically — even if he weren’t preoccupied with his own reelection. What’s more, the New Jersey governor lost cred with some conservatives last year after his embrace of Obama in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell looked like an ideal surrogate for Cuccinelli early this year — the outgoing governor was both popular and had a record of accomplishment — until the Star Scientific scandal turned him into a liability.

Finally, there’s Rep. Paul Ryan, Romney’s 2012 running mate. The popular Wisconsin congressman appeared on a conference call last week for Cuccinelli but told reporters that he had too much on his plate to trek across the river for an in-person appearance.

“Yeah, I’m a little busy doing budget negotiations right now,” said Ryan. “My problem is my day job pretty much keeps me full-time busy, so I apologize.”