Romney: Santorum is to the left of me on the economy

Mitt Romney on Monday stressed that his policy stances are more conservative than rival Rick Santorum's.

Speaking on Fox Business Network, Romney was asked, if he won the GOP presidential nomination, whether he would pick a running mate more conservative than him on the economy.

"Well, that would preclude Rick Santorum," Romney responded. "I find it interesting that he continues to describe himself as the real conservative. Rick Santorum is not a person who is an economic conservative to my right. His record does not suggest he has the fiscal conservative chops that I have."

Throughout the presidential race the entire GOP field has regularly fought to be identified as the most conservative candidate. Romney, for example, has described himself as "severely conservative," while Santorum has repeatedly argued that he is the only consistently conservative candidate on both fiscal and social issues.

Unlike Romney, who's worked to emphasize his experience in the private sector, Santorum has focused more on his stances on social issues as proof of his conservative bona fides.

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