Mitt Romney: GOP primary ‘unhelpful’

Mitt Romney says the long Republican primary was “unhelpful” in his quest to win the White House, but said it did not alter his ideological moorings.

Romney said in an interview aired Sunday on "Fox News Sunday" that he did not change his position to defeat opponents like Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, but the 2012 GOP presidential nominee said the intraparty attacks hurt his general election campaign.

“The idea that somehow it -- it -- that the primary made me become more conservative than I was just isn't - isn't accurate,” Romney said. “On the other hand, a long and blistering primary, where people are attacking one another and where the attacks sometimes are not on the mark but are creating an un -- you know, unfavorable impression, those things are not helpful.”