DENVER — Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Friday that evangelicals who are inclined to back rival Mike Huckabee would be wasting their votes and handing the party nomination to a "liberal," John McCain.
Evangelicals can "vote for Mike Huckabee and feel good about their vote," the former governor of Massachusetts told a Missouri TV station. "But they're basically saying, 'We're going to give the conservative vote -- we're going to divide it in half, give some to Mike Huckabee, give some to Mitt Romney.' "
Huckabee's strength among evangelicals has thwarted Romney's efforts to unite the party's conservative wing behind his candidacy. McCain faced a similar problem with moderates who backed Rudolph W. Giuliani, but the former New York mayor dropped out of the race Wednesday and endorsed McCain.
Romney's remarks came as the Republican presidential hopefuls scrambled across the nation's heartland to build support in the 21 states that will hold GOP nominating contests Tuesday.
McCain rolled out endorsements from Steve Forbes, a GOP presidential candidate in 1996 and 2000, and others as he tried to cement the impression that the party's establishment was overcoming its reluctance to embrace him. The Arizona senator flew from Los Angeles to St. Louis and Chicago.
Romney dashed from San Diego to Denver and Salt Lake City. Huckabee hit stops in Oklahoma, where he hammered Romney on abortion and gay rights, and in Missouri.
With a vast election map and just a few days left to campaign, the candidates tried to expand their reach with back-to-back satellite interviews with far-flung TV stations, including one in Fargo, N.D., and another in Peoria, Ill.
"I was waiting for yours, because if I can play in Peoria . . . " McCain joked to WHOI.
Romney, speaking from San Diego to KYTV in Springfield, Mo., pointed out the danger that Huckabee posed to his candidacy as he sought to offer conservatives a rationale for supporting him. He framed the race as a battle between himself and McCain. "If you vote for someone besides one of those two people, you're basically not getting the bang for your vote buck," Romney said.
He called McCain "too liberal" on immigration, taxes, campaign finance restrictions and global warming, saying the senator's energy plan would boost gasoline prices by 50 cents a gallon.
