Akin won't give up
Though many prominent members of his own party have called for him to leave a Missouri race for U.S. Senate, Republican Representative Todd Akin is not stepping down.
A supporter of Missouri Republican Senate candidate, Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., stands nearby during a news conference in St. Louis. Akin is hoping that donors displeased by his much-criticized remarks about rape will reopen their checkbooks.
AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.
Embattled GOP Congressman Todd Akin has made good on his promise to stay in Missouri's U.S. Senate race despite calls by top Republicans to quit following his comments about rape.
The final deadline for candidates to remove their names from the Missouri ballot passed Tuesday as Akin began a statewide bus tour. Akin is trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Akin has repeatedly apologized since saying during a television interview in August that women's bodies have ways of averting pregnancy in cases of what he called "legitimate rape."
Top Republicans, including presidential nominee Mitt Romney, have urged him to drop out. He's also lost backing from the national GOP.
But he has the state party's support, and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich joined Akin at a fundraiser Monday.