NASHVILLE  As they opened their inaugural national convention here, Tea Party advocates from across the country declared that they would turn the grass-roots anger that burst onto the streets a year ago into real political power, wielding money and campaign infrastructure as well as sheer energy.

Organizers of the convention announced on Friday that they were forming a political action committee to raise money and provide political consulting and campaign management for Tea Party-approved candidates. The PAC, an offshoot of a newly incorporated 501c4 called Ensuring Liberty, will seek to raise $10 million this year to spend in races in the 2010 Congressional elections.

To start, it will back conservative challengers in five races in the South. In the most highly visible, organizers want to run a candidate against Senator Blanche Lincoln, an Arkansas Democrat who has been under fire for her votes on health care legislation. In the coming weeks, organizers said they would identify another 15 or so races for Tea Party-backed challengers.

“Let us not be naïve here,” said Mark Skoda, leader of the Memphis Tea Party and a spokesman for the convention, who said he would be president of the PAC. “The notion of holding up signs does not get people elected.”