Around the country, tea-party groups are building increasingly sophisticated political organizations and overcoming early bickering to push legislative platforms, elect their own delegates, shake up statehouses and even form alliances with the Republican Party establishment they profess to dislike.

By NEIL KING JR. at WSJ

EXCERPTS:

Nowhere is this evolution more vivid than in Virginia, where a federation of more than 30 groups scattered across the state now has the ear of the Republican governor, top state legislators and the state’s congressional delegation.

In a show of strength, the group will host a two-day policy convention starting Friday in Richmond that looks set to be the largest state tea-party gathering of its kind to date.

“What we are witnessing is a very authentic grass-roots movement,” said Ned Ryun, president of Virginia-based American Majority, a group that trains conservative activists and candidates. “But without a lasting fabric, these groups will have trouble keeping the passion alive into the future.” Mr. Ryan’s group has opened activist-training offices in Texas, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

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