Santorum Tells Alabama Voters He’s the “True Red Conservative”
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Jessica McGowan/Getty Images(MONTGOMERY, Ala.) — Just hours after Mitt Romney accused Rick Santorum of being to the left of him, the former Pennsylvania senator hit back, telling a crowd in Montgomery, Ala., that his victories show just how conservative he is.
“You have candidates who do not have a conservative record, but who are now — because they are in a primary, they are out there trying to run to the right and say, ‘Oh, we’re the most conservative,’” Santorum said Monday evening. “But if you look at the state that just voted on Saturday, Kansas, there’s no more rock rib solid conservative state in the country than the state of Kansas, it’s about as red as they get. Oklahoma, about as red as they get. And who won Kansas and Oklahoma?”
He told the audience of about 200 that if the voters of Alabama and Mississippi, who go to the polls on Tuesday, “have any doubt who the true blue conservative is — or the true red conservative is, there is no question.”
Earlier Monday on Fox News, Romney told Neil Cavuto that he “find(s) it interesting that he (Santorum) continues to describe himself as the real conservative” before listing reasons he believes his opponent is not, adding Santorum’s “record does not suggest he has the fiscal conservative chops that I have.”
Santorum again said if he’s the victor on Tuesday it will become a “two-person race,” suggesting the loss for Newt Gingrich would push him out of contention.
According to several polls, Santorum, Romney and Gingrich are locked in a three-way tie in both states.
Santorum made a final push Monday evening for the audience members’ votes, telling them their primaries are not usually this important.
“This is the first time your vote in a Republican primary is going to make a difference. And it’s going to make a huge difference,” he said.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio