Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, issued a statement today dismissing most of his Republican rivals for their “leftist” attacks on Mitt Romney’s record as a venture capitalist, adding that the presidential primary has become a “two-man race” between Romney and Paul.

“Two important issues that should unite Republicans are a belief in free markets and an understanding that the media shoulod often use ‘gotcha’ tactics to discredit us,” Paul’s campaign chairman, Jesse Benton, said today. “Santorum, Huntsman, and Gingrich are employing leftist tactics because they can’t run on their questionable records and can’t distinguish themselves from Romney.”