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[T]ea party activists are working to solidify their movement by pivoting quickly to state and local issues they think will allow them to show that theirs was not a one-time uprising tied to this year's congressional contest. A major focus will be Virginia - one of only four states to hold elections next November. They are also launching a political action committee to recruit, train and fund candidates, and help them drive a legislative agenda during January's General Assembly session.
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Karen Miner Hurd, founder of the Hampton Roads Tea Party, said she and others now recognize the benefits of experience and creating "a candidate farm club and a bench for conservatives out of the grass roots." . . . She said the PAC - called the Virginia Tea Party Alliance - will target Democrats, who hold a narrow majority in the state Senate, as well as "tax-loving Republicans." Leading Republicans in the state Senate have repeatedly joined Democrats on budget issues, often clashing with more conservative members of the GOP who control the House of Delegates.
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Already, a tea party-backed candidate has announced that he plans to challenge the Senate's leading Republican, Thomas K. Norment (James City County), for the GOP nomination. By targeting sitting Republicans, the tea party will probably clash with the GOP establishment in some areas.
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Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (Arlington), who chairs the Democratic caucus in the state Senate, said the move by the tea party groups will be good for her party.
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Even before the elections, Virginia's activists plan to push an ambitious agenda during January's legislative session. How incumbents vote on the issues will help determine which face tea party challenges in the months ahead. Top on the list is a bill expressing Virginia's support for a federal constitutional amendment to invalidate acts of Congress if two-thirds of state legislatures agree.
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