MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – A slightly smaller field of Republican presidential candidates, with little time left to take down front-runner Mitt Romney, sharpened their attacks against the former Massachusetts governor Monday just days before South Carolinians turn out for the first-in-the-south primary.

Eager to claim the mantle as the viable alternative to Romney, former Pennsylvania Rick Santorum ripped Romney for a wave of negative advertising in South Carolina. Texas Gov. Rick Perry demanded that Romney release his tax records and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich — who earned the most consistent applause from an animated audience — said Romney’s corporate background required further vetting.