The call is a clear signal that Frederick supporters are mounting an agressive campaign to keep him as chairman.

The automated caller appears to suggest that McDonnell and Mike Thomas, the first vice-chairman of the state party, are elitists who are "taking orders from tax raising, anti-gun, pro-abortion officeholders in Richmond."

In a letter to members of the Republican State Central Committee, who will decide on April 4 whether to remove the chairman, Frederick said he did not authorize the robocall.

"I want to make it emphatically and clearly known that in no way did I have or had any involvement in the planning or execution of these calls, nor did I have prior knowledge these calls were going to be made.," Frederick said. "As of this writing, I still do not know what person or organization is behind this effort."

Below is the full text of the automated message, which is being sent to delegates who attended last year's GOP convention.

In a posting on the Blue Virginia blog, Josh Chernila, Lee Diamond and Lowell Feld said they are impressed with McAuliffe's message and his chances for success this fall against former attorney general Robert F. McDonnell, the GOP nominee.

"McAuliffe has a solid grasp of issues, takes strong progressive stands and is able to communicate and fund his message," Chernila said.

In recent months, McAuliffe has been making an aggressive push to win over liberal bloggers in Virginia, a state with some of the most active state-level Democratic blogs in the country.

Feld was one the founders and longtime keepers of the popular Raising Kaine blog, which disbanded after the November 2008 election. Feld, a longtime party activist, now operates the Blue Virginia blog. Feld said he finds McAuliffe to be an "engaging, smart determined, focused, positive person" and also a "surprisingly strong pragmatic progressive with a working-class, populist streak."

McDonnell is running unopposed for his party's nomination and has all spring to prepare for the general election as the Democrats attack one another. He also appeared to have the luxury of a unified conservative base that is relatively enthusiastic about his candidacy, leaving him the freedom to reach out to moderate swing voters who might decide the November election.

Despite all this, the McDonnell campaign apparently couldn't resist wading into an ugly, internal party battle over Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick's fitness to serve as chairman of the Virginia Republican Party.

McDonnell joined in efforts to oust the party leader. Frederick (Prince William) has vowed to fight for his job. The looming battle could set up the kind of split that McDonnell and GOP leaders worked so hard to avoid.

At an event in Richmond, McAuliffe said he's got "big ideas" to make Virginia energy efficient and to grow the state's economy through the creation of green jobs.

"The is the most aggressive plan that has been put out in Virginia and one of the most aggressive plans in the country," McAuliffe said. He later added, "I don't want to follow other states, I want to lead other states. It's time for Virginia to be the number one renewable energy state in the country."

McAuliffe wants to require that 25 percent of the state's energy needs come from renewable energy by 2025. He also wants to offer new incentives to businesses that purchase renewable energy equipment such as solar panels. McAuliffe would put a heavy emphasis on biofuels, including trying to require that non-food biofuels be blended in all gasoline products.

Crittenden, a well-respected Democrat who represented Hampton Roads for a decade before retiring in 2003, said that she "did not authorize the Moran for Governor Campaign to release my name as an endorser of his candidacy."

Crittenden was listed on a press release Monday along with more than a dozen former or current elected leaders in the Hampton Roads region.

"Brian Moran holds Flora Crittenden in the absolute highest regard, and appreciates the support she has given him in the past,'' said Jesse Ferguson, a spokesman for Moran. "Our staff thought we had confirmation of her public support, but this appears to be a miscommunication and we apologized to former delegate Crittenden for any inconvenience."

In a conference call with reporters, McDonnell said the proposed legislation would undermine Virginia's status as a right-to-work state.

"I have come to say today this is not good for Virginia, this is not good for our free enterprise system," McDonnell said. " We don't want to turn Virginia into southern Michigan."

Under the legislation, which is a top priority of organized labor, workers could decide to unionize without holding secret elections. McDonnell said the bill "goes very, very much against the spirit of American democracy."

McDonnell's statements could help him win over some members of the state's influential business community. Earlier today, a group of business leaders from Virginia traveled to Washington to lobby Congress against the bill.

But at least one of them never did.

Anita Hartke, chairwoman of Culpeper County Democratic Committee and candidate for Congress last year, said in an interview that she did not endorse McAuliffe over rivals R. Creigh Deeds and Brian Moran. Hartke, whose father was a U.S. senator from Indiana, said she will not endorse any candidate in the June 9 primary.

"I believe we have three outstanding leaders with vision and drive running for governor in Virginia,'' she said.

Check out this clip from SBTN, a Vietnamese station available in the United States through DISH and local cable networks, from a March 3 appearance at the Tower Club in McLean. (McDonnell's part is in English).

Pickett, who represented the Hampton Roads area from 1987 to 2001 and has been an advocate for the region's military installations, cited McAuliffe's decades of experience creating jobs and turning around businesses.

"Terry McAuliffe has the dynamic leadership qualities and visionary problem solving ability that Virginia needs today to deal with the serious economic challenges confronting us, " Pickett said. "Whether it's his commitment to keeping the nuclear carriers in Norfolk or developing Virginia's green industry, Terry will bring the innovative ideas that we need in Richmond to create and keep good jobs here in the Commonwealth."

State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds will make phone calls at the Moon campaign headquarters in Annandale. Former delegate Brian Moran has sent staff to help Moon's campaign tonight and Moran will be at his headquarters tomorrow morning to make calls. Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAulifee helped with canvassing and has made his headquarters available tomorrow.

"We need to elect Ilryong Moon to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday," Deeds said. "The enthusiasm of Ilryong's volunteers is one of the greatest assets of his campaign. I look forward to joining his grassroots team to help get out the vote for Ilryong in the Braddock district."

The race pits Moon against lawyer and community activist John Cook (R) and accountant Carey C. Campbell, an independent. Moon and Cook are vowing to continue the legacy of Supervisor Sharon Bulova (D), who vacated her Braddock District seat when she was elected chairman of the 10-member board last month.