In Last Face-Off, Candidates Drive Home Familiar Points

But the campaigns do not seem to have captured the attention of most Virginia voters. Longtime political observers said they see fewer yard signs this year than in previous campaigns. The two previous debates were not broadcast widely on television, so few people saw them.

Sunday's debate almost didn't take place.

A spat over whether video clips from the debate could be used in upcoming television commercials almost derailed the event. In the end, Kaine agreed not to use any footage in ads, but he said he did so "under protest."

State Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr. (R-Winchester), who is running for governor as an independent, also tried to stop the debate, which was sponsored by the Center for Politics and NBC-12 in Richmond. He filed a lawsuit in federal court last week seeking to be included or to have the debate postponed. The judge denied his case.

A few hours before the debate, Kaine sought to energize a pre-debate rally by separating himself from Kilgore's stances on last year's tax fight.

"This is an important election. . . . This is a clear choice," Kaine said to calls of "We won't go back!" from the crowd.

In an e-mail after the debate, Kilgore declared himself the winner and expressed confidence about a victory.

"Never before have the two major parties nominated two more different candidates," Kilgore said in the statement. "As one newspaper put it earlier this year, voters will have a choice between a classic conservative and a classic liberal."