With the retirement of Republican U.S. Senator John Warner in Virginia, all eyes are on the open contest.

On the Republican side, I'm hearing names like Congressman Tom Davis, former Governor Jim Gilmore, and Congressman Eric Cantor as likely candidates. All three would be very strong candidates.

But on the left, there's only one name that has me worried, Mark Warner. Today, Warner announced that he's in the race through a YouTube video and a website to help build his list:

Good video. Powerful message.

Without a leading candidate on our side, it's up to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) to help drive the narrative and push-back on Warner.

Fortunately, under the leadership of U.S. Senator John Ensign, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), has become an aggressive, modern campaign committee. And they're already making an impact on the race using modern media strategies.

For example, like most political junkies, one of my first reads each morning is MSNBC's First Read where I found links to Warner's announcement website. But that's not all. I also found a graf dedicated to the efforts of the NRSC:

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, however, released its own statement that unveils a Web site highlighting Warner's tax increase in Virginia. "Make no mistake about it, Mark Warner is a politician who can't be trusted to keep his promises to voters," NRSC communications director Rebecca Fisher said. "And his prime example is raising Virginians' taxes by $1.38 billion."

The "Don't Mark Warner" website also has this corny YouTube video which helps drive their message of Warner as a tax-and-spend liberal:

Now, to be fair to previous NRSC staffers, the NRSC's efforts to whip up anti-Dem candidate websites is not a new practice, and if they wouldn't have been prepared for a Mark Warner entry in to the race we'd all have serious doubts about the Committee. But this is the modern campaign trail. This is how things like websites, YouTube, and mainstream media work together--early--to craft narratives about a race.

I'd be remiss not to point out the strength of the Republican Party of Virginia through the leadership of folks like Shaun Kenney. In fact, Kenney has already blogged about the NRSC video which shows you how we everyone can work together to drive a narrative.

And make no mistake: The Virginia Senate race will be the race to watch this year. On the heels of the "macaca" controversy and now a strong sitting Democratic Senator, the netroots and the Democratic Party are hungry for blood in Virginia. They will work tirelessly, together, to help turn Virginia blue.

We must be willing to fight harder, faster, smarter, and quicker if we intend to hold this seat. And on the modern campaign trail, it's actions like those of the NRSC that make me think that we're heading in the right direction.