Romney Group Slams Santorum on Spending

Getty Images Mitt Romney

The super PAC supporting Mitt Romney is out with a new ad slamming Rick Santorum's record on federal spending as the former Pennsylvania senator leads in Michigan and national polls.

The ad by Restore Our Future tries to portray Santorum as a "big spender" and "Washington insider," as it highlights his votes in Congress to raise the debt ceiling and to support pet projects known as earmarks.

The ad notes Santorum voted for the now-famous "Bridge to Nowhere," a proposed bridge in Alaska that would have connected the town of Ketchikan with Gravina Island, where its airport and 50 residents are located.

Restore Our Future is spending $1.5 million to run ads in states that vote in February and March, according to The Boston Globe. That includes Michigan, where recent polls show Santorum leading Romney in the state where Romney was born.

Restore Our Future has spent more than $14 million so far to help attack Romney's rivals for the GOP nomination. The independent group, run by former Romney aides, was responsible for a stinging series of ads in Iowa that knocked Newt Gingrich out of contention there.