Not panicked by three straight polls showing Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli stuck behind campaign leader Terry McAuliffe, the Republican is shifting his effort into high gear with an aggressive plan to portray himself as somebody who has “always fought for Virginians.”

The strategy kicked off when the Cuccinelli campaign released a new and positive TV ad showing how he helped free a jailed African American man wrongly accused of rape. Campaign officials told Secrets that other similar ads and events highlighting Cuccinelli’s moves to help or protect Virginians while attorney general will follow.