Rep. Todd Akin Apologizes for "Legitimate Rape" Comment Amid GOP Pressure to Drop Out of Senate Race
Although Todd Akin is vowing to stay in the Missouri Senate race, a looming 5pm deadline today is certain to intensify the pressure that he is feeling from fellow Republicans to drop out. Congressman Akin ignited a firestorm when he said that women’s bodies can prevent pregnancy in case of “legitimate rape.”
Yesterday, an apologetic Akin spoke to Mike Huckabee on his radio show, saying, “Let me be clear, rape is never legitimate. It’s an evil act. It’s committed by violent predators. I used the wrong words the wrong way. What I said was ill-conceived and it was wrong.”
Steve Centanni reported that this isn’t good news for Republican efforts to regain control of the Senate, pointing out that it’s one of the key races the GOP was targeting and counting on Akin to unseat incumbent and Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill. According to a commissioned official, the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee will stop funding Akin’s race by pulling $5 million in advertising that was set aside just for Missouri.
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McCaskill weighed in on the issue, saying, “I think what’s startling to me is that these party bigwigs are coming down on him and saying that he needs to kick sand in the face of the Republican primary voters.”
Centanni said that there’s a lot of Republican pressure for Akin to drop out of the race. Senator Mitch McConnell said, “Although Rep. Akin has apologized, I believe he should take time with his family to consider whether this statement will prevent him from effectively representing our party in this critical election.”
