WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- In a new TV ad airing in Iowa , Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney stepped up his attacks on rival Mike Huckabee , this time accusing the former Arkansas governor of being soft on crime . But some of the claims Romney makes in the ad about his own crime-fighting record have raised questions . With the crucial Iowa caucuses a little more than two weeks away , the Romney ad , titled `` Choice : Judgment , '' attempts to contrast his record as Massachusetts governor with Huckabee 's in Arkansas . With pictures of the two candidates on the screen , the ad 's announcer says that `` Romney got tough on drugs like meth '' and that `` he never pardoned a single criminal . '' Watch Romney 's ad attacking Huckabee » . The announcer goes on to say Huckabee `` granted 1,033 pardons and commutations , including 12 convicted murderers . Huckabee granted more clemencies than the previous three governors combined . Even reduced penalties for manufacturing methamphetamine . '' The announcer closes with `` on crime the difference is judgment . '' Speaking to reporters Monday in Los Angeles , California , Huckabee disputed the ad , pointing to his record of carrying out the death penalty while governor as evidence that he was tough on crime . Massachusetts does n't have the death penalty . `` The difference between us is that I did something he never had to do . I carried out the death penalty 16 times , more than any other governor in my state 's history , '' Huckabee said . The statistics cited in Romney 's ad come from a recent Associated Press examination of Huckabee 's record of commutations and pardons . Huckabee received more commutation and pardon requests than Romney did and rejected 78 percent of them , according to The Washington Post . One commutation request Huckabee rejected as governor was that of convicted rapist Wayne DuMond . But Huckabee supported DuMond 's early release , and the convict raped and murdered a woman in Missouri after his 1999 parole . The mother of DuMond 's victim has vowed to campaign against Huckabee 's candidacy . Romney 's claim he `` got tough '' on methamphetamine dealers is questionable since a proposal to stiffen sentences never passed the Massachusetts Legislature . The former Arkansas governor also challenged Romney 's assertion that Huckabee had `` reduced '' the punishment for manufacturing meth . `` With Huckabee way ahead among evangelical voters , Romney is doing his best to change the subject to crime and , in an earlier ad , illegal immigration , '' said Howard Kurtz , The Washington Post 's media critic and host of CNN 's `` Reliable Sources . '' `` Huckabee may have a hard time fighting back . He 's got little money for TV , while Romney is spending millions . '' The two candidates have been engaged in almost daily skirmishes over their records since Huckabee emerged as the front-runner in Iowa a few weeks ago , a position Romney had held . The Iowa caucuses will be held January 3 . Before the disagreement over crime , the two exchanged barbs over foreign policy . In the current issue of Foreign Affairs magazine , Huckabee says , `` American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude , open up , and reach out . The Bush administration 's arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad . '' That stance prompted Romney , on NBC 's `` Meet the Press '' on Sunday , to call on Huckabee to apologize to President Bush for his remarks . `` I said , 'Well , did this come from Barack Obama or from Hillary Clinton ? Did it come from John Edwards ? ' No , it was Gov . Huckabee , '' Romney told host Tim Russert . `` The truth of the matter is this president has kept us safe these last six years and that has not been easy to do . '' Huckabee said he did n't have anything for which to apologize . `` I did n't say the president was arrogant , '' Huckabee told CNN on Sunday . `` One of my opponents has mistakenly , maybe purposefully , misstated my position on that . I 've said the policies have been arrogant . '' E-mail to a friend .
A Romney ad says Mike Huckabee was soft on crime as Arkansas governor . Huckabee says his willingness to carry out executions shows he 's tough on crime . Romney 's assertion he ` ` ' tough '' on Massachusetts meth dealers ' .