Republican leaders are focused on a Tuesday afternoon deadline, hoping that Rep. Todd Akin (Mo.), the embattled Senate candidate who used the phrase “legitimate rape” in talking about abortion and pregnancy, will heed their calls to get out of the race and preserve the GOP’s chances to take back the upper house.
Akin has said repeatedly that he has no intention of leaving the race, even as his prospects of winning have likely been diminished with Republican leaders pulling financial support from the contest and denouncing his comments.
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Republican U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin released a campaign ad asking voters to forgive him for his comments about rape and abortion.
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Tuesday morning, with a 5 p.m. deadline for stepping aside without a court order looming over the race, Akin released a new campaign commercial called “Forgiveness.”
“Rape is an evil act,” he says in the 30-second ad. “I used the wrong words in the wrong way, and for that I apologize.”
If Akin decides to leave the race, Republicans can select a replacement. But if he decides to remain a candidate, he would have until Sept. 25 to petition a court to be removed from the ballot.
After Sept. 25, Missouri candidate names remain on the ballot, even in the event of death.
GOP leaders have put heavy pressure on Akin to leave the race, with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney calling the comments “insulting, inexcusable, and frankly wrong” and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.) asking Akin to step aside.
The controversy has become a distraction to Republican leaders as they are set to begin their Tampa convention next week and finalize the party’s platform, which will likely include language supporting a ban on abortion except when the mother’s life is in danger.
In the wake of Akin’s comments, the Romney campaign released a statement Sunday saying that Romney and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan would not oppose abortion in instances of rape.
Democrats have seized on the comments, aiming to tie Akin to Ryan, and widen the gender gap — Obama has a 22-point favorability advantage over Romney when it comes to women.
“Rape is rape, and the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we are talking about doesn’t make sense to the American people and certainly doesn’t make sense to me,” Obama said Monday at a news conference. “So what I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health-care decisions on behalf of women.”
In 2011, Ryan, Akin and other GOP candidates co-sponsored a 2011 bill that would have strengthened federal prohibitions on abortion funding, redefining rape so that only “forcible rape” would be exempt from the restriction.
Senate Republicans, who need four seats to claim the majority — or three if Romney defeats Obama, giving Ryan the tie-breaking vote — have long viewed Akin’s opponent, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), as the most vulnerable Democrat running for reelection.
Missouri has increasingly tilted away from Democrats since her 2006 victory. In the days leading up to Akin’s Aug. 7 primary victory, GOP strategists issued memos claiming that any of the three contenders would defeat McCaskill, but senior advisers made it clear they preferred either of the two alternatives to Akin: John Brunner, a businessman who had the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Sarah Steelman, a former state treasurer backed by Sarah Palin.
Akin has said repeatedly that he has no intention of leaving the race, even as his prospects of winning have likely been diminished with Republican leaders pulling financial support from the contest and denouncing his comments.
Video
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin released a campaign ad asking voters to forgive him for his comments about rape and abortion.
More from PostPolitics
Ed O'Keefe 2CHAMBERS | A fact-finding group’s dip in the Sea of Galilee is just the latest in a series of missteps.
Aaron Blake THE FIX | National Basketball Association owners donate more to Mitt Romney than players and coaches give to the president.
Sean Sullivan THE FIX | The congressman's biggest problem now? His own party is quickly abandoning him.
Tuesday morning, with a 5 p.m. deadline for stepping aside without a court order looming over the race, Akin released a new campaign commercial called “Forgiveness.”
“Rape is an evil act,” he says in the 30-second ad. “I used the wrong words in the wrong way, and for that I apologize.”
If Akin decides to leave the race, Republicans can select a replacement. But if he decides to remain a candidate, he would have until Sept. 25 to petition a court to be removed from the ballot.
After Sept. 25, Missouri candidate names remain on the ballot, even in the event of death.
GOP leaders have put heavy pressure on Akin to leave the race, with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney calling the comments “insulting, inexcusable, and frankly wrong” and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.) asking Akin to step aside.
The controversy has become a distraction to Republican leaders as they are set to begin their Tampa convention next week and finalize the party’s platform, which will likely include language supporting a ban on abortion except when the mother’s life is in danger.
In the wake of Akin’s comments, the Romney campaign released a statement Sunday saying that Romney and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan would not oppose abortion in instances of rape.
Democrats have seized on the comments, aiming to tie Akin to Ryan, and widen the gender gap — Obama has a 22-point favorability advantage over Romney when it comes to women.
“Rape is rape, and the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we are talking about doesn’t make sense to the American people and certainly doesn’t make sense to me,” Obama said Monday at a news conference. “So what I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health-care decisions on behalf of women.”
In 2011, Ryan, Akin and other GOP candidates co-sponsored a 2011 bill that would have strengthened federal prohibitions on abortion funding, redefining rape so that only “forcible rape” would be exempt from the restriction.
Senate Republicans, who need four seats to claim the majority — or three if Romney defeats Obama, giving Ryan the tie-breaking vote — have long viewed Akin’s opponent, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), as the most vulnerable Democrat running for reelection.
Missouri has increasingly tilted away from Democrats since her 2006 victory. In the days leading up to Akin’s Aug. 7 primary victory, GOP strategists issued memos claiming that any of the three contenders would defeat McCaskill, but senior advisers made it clear they preferred either of the two alternatives to Akin: John Brunner, a businessman who had the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Sarah Steelman, a former state treasurer backed by Sarah Palin.