Romney and McCain traded last minute barbs today ahead of Super Tuesday with both candidates continuing questioning each others conservative credentials.

“A lot of people said it is going to be a very easy race for Senator McCain. But across the country conservatives have come together and said, ‘You know what, we don’t want Senator McCain. We want a conservative to be in the White House’,” Romney told supporters in Nashville.

McCain ripped Romney at a campaign rally in Hamilton, New Jersey, saying Romney presided over a “big government, mandated health care plan” as governor of Massachusetts.

McCain said he has long been in favor of cutting federal spending and is a strong proponent of facing down the challenge of Islamic extremism — positions he said are at the heart of conservatism.

“So I’m proud of my record in the Senate as a staunch conservative,” McCain said.