Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times
Supporters of Mitt Romney on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where Mr. Romney sought to address reservations about his credentials.
By JEFF ZELENY
WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney sought on Friday to expunge the lingering skepticism and unease that conservative activists have raised about his presidential candidacy, pledging in a speech that he would not betray their trust or abandon their principles if he challenged President Obama as the Republican nominee.
As the Republican presidential race intensifies, Mr. Romney’s record as Massachusetts governor has resumed a central role. He introduced himself at a speech here as a “severely conservative governor,” but one of his leading rivals, Rick Santorum, warned voters not to settle for “a hollow victory” by nominating an impure conservative.
The nominating contest, which is growing increasingly acrimonious as candidates fight for delegates, took center stage as thousands of party activists convened for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. The forum highlighted the united opposition to Mr. Obama, particularly given the recent furor over birth control and health care coverage, but also drew attention to sharp disagreements about who would make the strongest nominee.
Mr. Romney, who had hoped to be well on his way to securing his bid for the nomination by now, delivered a forceful defense of his conservative credentials. He set aside his economic message and presented himself as a Washington outsider, vowing to repeal Mr. Obama’s signature health care legislation, reduce the size of government and maintain a strong opposition to abortion.
“I happen to be the only candidate in this race, Republican or Democrat, who has never worked a day in Washington,” Mr. Romney said. “I don’t have old scores to settle or decades of cloakroom deals that I have to defend.”
But the new order of the Republican presidential campaign also came into sharper view, as Mr. Santorum was greeted by enthusiastic applause after his victories in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri on Tuesday. His aides announced Friday that he had raised $3 million in the past three days — more than all of last year — in what they said was a sign that conservatives were urgently seeking an alternative to Mr. Romney.
Mr. Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, sharply criticized the health care law that Mr. Romney signed as governor of Massachusetts, saying it wipes away one of the best arguments Republicans have against the Obama administration. He called the Massachusetts health care law “the stepchild of Obamacare,” and reminded conservative activists that they still had a choice in the race.
“I think we have learned our lesson,” Mr. Santorum said. “We will no longer abandon and apologize for the policies and principles that made this country great for a hollow victory in November.”
The Republican race, at least for now, is emerging as a battle between Mr. Romney and Mr. Santorum. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich also appeared at the conference, but he neither mentioned his rivals nor devoted his speech to tearing down Mr. Romney as he did a week ago after losing in Nevada. Representative Ron Paul of Texas chose to spend the day campaigning in Maine, where Saturday is the final day of caucuses.
The spotlight was squarely on Mr. Romney, who is working to regain the upper hand in the Republican nominating contest. He went to great lengths to showcase his conservative core, using a variation of the word “conservative” at least 25 times during a 25-minute speech.
But he did not dramatically change his tone or signal that he was poised to make urgent adjustments to his message. While commentators had built up his appearance at the conservative forum as a make-or-break moment for his candidacy, he seemed to confront it with the same methodical approach he has taken to his campaign.
At the conference here four years ago, in the same ballroom of the Marriott Wardman Park hotel, Mr. Romney announced that he was ending his presidential bid. The crowd roared in disapproval, a sign of the well-known dislike among conservatives for Senator John McCain.
It was difficult to measure how much ground Mr. Romney has gained or lost, particularly given how the Republican Party has changed since 2008. He reminded the audience of his conservative record in a state that he called the most liberal in the country.
“I was a severely conservative Republican governor,” Mr. Romney said, adding “severely” to the text of his speech for emphasis. “I fought against long odds in a deep blue state.”
In his speech, Mr. Romney presented himself as a chief executive with the breadth of experience needed in the White House. He also ran through a litany of his conservative principles from his time as governor, declaring at one point: “We fought hard and prevented Massachusetts from becoming the Las Vegas of gay marriage.”
The three-day conservative conference concludes Saturday with a presidential straw poll. The Romney campaign was working aggressively behind the scenes for a strong showing, including busing students from colleges along the Eastern Seaboard to show their support.
While the Republican presidential race has often devolved into a bare-knuckle affair, particularly during the televised debates, the atmosphere on Friday was far more genteel. During Mr. Gingrich’s afternoon speech, he assumed the posture of a happy warrior, not once questioning, as he often has, Mr. Romney’s changing positions on abortion or other issues.
“We need to teach the Republican establishment a lesson,” Mr. Gingrich said. “We are determined to rebuild America, not to manage its decay.”
It was Mr. Santorum who raised pointed questions about Mr. Romney’s conservative core. He implored Republican primary voters to buck the party tendency to nominate the candidate with the most money and the most moderate credentials. “We always talked about how are we going to get the moderates?” Mr. Santorum said. “Why would an undecided voter vote for the candidate of a party when the party’s not excited about him?”
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