For Romney, a new strategy after a Santorum surge

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is casting himself as a strict conservative as he looks to reset his campaign following three losses to rival Rick Santorum.

The former Massachusetts governor has spent this campaign focusing on his business credentials and downplaying ideology. Four years ago he failed to win the GOP nomination by running as a social conservative.

Romney's campaign says his speech Friday to the Conservative Political Action Committee was a chance for Romney to speak directly to the conservatives who rejected him in three contests last Tuesday. 

The speech represents a full-throated insistence that Romney is conservative in both record and background. Romney is seeking to send that message as he struggles to convince the GOP's skeptical right flank that he's acceptable as the party's nominee.