RICHMOND – Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell warned his fellow Republicans Tuesday about the danger of creating an ideological “purity test” to weed out moderate candidates, a nod to the increasingly important role independents play in Virginia politics.

McDonnell, fresh off a blowout victory that elevated him as a national symbol of Republican resurgence, seemed uneasy with the notion that the party should now turn its attentions to enforcing conservative orthodoxy, as some members of the Republican National Committee have proposed.