Virginia G.O.P Pleases Crowd With Barbs About I.R.S. RICHMOND, Va. - In the first Republican road test of a potentially torrid campaign issue, speaker after speaker at the party's Virginia state convention over the weekend inveighed against the government's targeting of conservative groups to inspire and motivate activists. Steve Helber/Associated Press State Senator Mark Obenshain, the nominee for attorney general, won applause with a warning to a "rogue I.R.S." about targeting the state Tea Party. The tone ranged from outrage to black humor. But at each mention in the cavernous Richmond Coliseum here on Saturday, the 8,000 delegates - foot soldiers most valued in this year's statewide elections - roared their approval. Floor leaders estimated that as many as 1,000 delegates were affiliated with the Tea Party, and its leaders here all but thanked the Obama administration for handing them a recruitment tool - the controversial act by the Internal Revenue Service of singling out Tea Party and other conservative political organizations for scrutiny. "By being here today, every one of you has just signed up for an audit by the I.R.S.," Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, said in a keynote speech. You are officially now on the White House enemies list. State Senator Mark Obenshain, who won the party's nomination for state attorney general, drew a burst of applause by issuing a personal challenge to the administration. President Obama, the next time your rogue I.R.S. targets the Virginia Tea Party, you're going to have to deal with me. One of seven candidates competing for lieutenant governor, a retired Army colonel named Scott Lingamfelter, who was introduced by Allen B. West, a former congressman from Florida and a Tea Party favorite, wove military themes through a blistering attack on federal overreach. "This assault of theirs on the Tea Party and the assault of the Justice Department on our liberties must stop," Mr. Lingamfelter said as a supporter waved a "Don't Tread on Me" flag large enough to lead a cavalry charge. He added, "I will stand on the banks of the Potomac and say, "Not another step!" " Balloting for lieutenant governor, an important job because it includes a tiebreaking vote in the State Senate - now evenly divided between the two parties - lasted nearly 10 hours until late Saturday night. E. J. Jackson, a minister and lawyer who espouses Tea Party principles of limited government, won. For governor, the highest profile race in the country this year, the convention formally nominated Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, the only contender. It was the finale of Mr. Cuccinelli's consolidation of his party by activating its most conservative members. Two years ago, he challenged grass-roots Virginians excited by his lawsuits as state attorney general against Mr. Obama's health care law and environmental regulation to run for seats on the party's central committee. They did. Mr. Cuccinelli's selection was all but assured when the new blood on the committee, including Tea Party and libertarian members, canceled a Republican primary in favor of a nominating convention, which favors ideological purists. On Friday, the central committee also ruled that it would pick next year's Senate nominee by convention. A Tea Party-favored challenger last year had lost a primary race to George Allen, a former Republican governor, who went on to lose the general election to a Democrat, Tim Kaine. Now Republicans in Virginia, an increasingly purple state that twice voted for Mr. Obama, will test the proposition of national conservatives that the party does better when it runs true believers, not wishy-washy candidates like Mitt Romney. Mr. Cuccinelli, his base consolidated, shifted a bit toward independent voters in his acceptance speech. He emphasized issues like improving mental health care and protecting children from predators. His mention of the I.R.S. scandal was humorous. "My opponent and his liberal cronies will say I'm too conservative," he said, referring to the Democratic nominee, Terry McAuliffe. That can't be true, because I haven't been audited by the I.R.S. Congressional Republicans on Friday began what they promised would be weeks of hearings on the targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status by an I.R.S. office in Ohio.