GOP Congressman Todd Akin will stay in Missouri's U.S. Senate race despite calls by top Republicans to drop out.
By Lisa MascaroSeptember 27, 2012, 8:24 a.m.
ROLLA, Missouri -- Todd Akin's uphill battle for Senate got another boost Thursday as Sen. Jim DeMint's political action committee pledged as much as $290,000 to the conservative Republican's campaign.
Saying "the grassroots must rise up" against Republican party leaders who have shunned Akin, the South Carolina conservative is again positioning himself as a kingmaker, in Akin's effort to defeat Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Akin's candidacy has been boosted this week with support from DeMint and Rick Santorum, who plan to campaign for him, and Newt Gingrich who has predicted GOP donors will return to the six-term congressman's campaign. Akin's earlier comments on "legitimate rape" had thrown the campaign into turmoil as top GOP leaders here and in Washington-- including Mitt Romney -- called on him to step down.
More than 8,000 donors to DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund pledged support for Akin "given that he's the Republican candidate, the race is competitive, and the outcome could determine control of the Senate," the senator said in an email to the backers. They hope to raise $100,000 by this week's quarterly campaign filing report deadline.
Akin has clearly been buoyed by the support he has been receiving as some party leaders reversed course this week to back his campaign.
"The Lord has been doing some amazing things," Akin told Republican activists and supporters at an evening stop Wednesday on his bus tour in Rolla, a rural college town midway between St. Louis and the western edge of the state.
Many strategists believe the Senate lost its chance to seize majority control in the last election after DeMint and others backed tea party candidates over establishment choices in GOP primaries helping to nominate those who lost to Democrats in the general election.
But since Akin emerged as the party nominee before he made the comment that pregnancy "rarely" results from legitimate rape, some Republicans now see little choice but to back his campaign if the party hopes to pick up the four seats needed to take over the Senate.
McCaskill still faces a difficult route to re-election in the Republican-leaning state and has been running ads and raising money off what she portrays as Akin's "extreme" positions.
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Twitter: @LisaMascaroinDC
By Lisa MascaroSeptember 27, 2012, 8:24 a.m.
ROLLA, Missouri -- Todd Akin's uphill battle for Senate got another boost Thursday as Sen. Jim DeMint's political action committee pledged as much as $290,000 to the conservative Republican's campaign.
Saying "the grassroots must rise up" against Republican party leaders who have shunned Akin, the South Carolina conservative is again positioning himself as a kingmaker, in Akin's effort to defeat Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Akin's candidacy has been boosted this week with support from DeMint and Rick Santorum, who plan to campaign for him, and Newt Gingrich who has predicted GOP donors will return to the six-term congressman's campaign. Akin's earlier comments on "legitimate rape" had thrown the campaign into turmoil as top GOP leaders here and in Washington-- including Mitt Romney -- called on him to step down.
More than 8,000 donors to DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund pledged support for Akin "given that he's the Republican candidate, the race is competitive, and the outcome could determine control of the Senate," the senator said in an email to the backers. They hope to raise $100,000 by this week's quarterly campaign filing report deadline.
Akin has clearly been buoyed by the support he has been receiving as some party leaders reversed course this week to back his campaign.
"The Lord has been doing some amazing things," Akin told Republican activists and supporters at an evening stop Wednesday on his bus tour in Rolla, a rural college town midway between St. Louis and the western edge of the state.
Many strategists believe the Senate lost its chance to seize majority control in the last election after DeMint and others backed tea party candidates over establishment choices in GOP primaries helping to nominate those who lost to Democrats in the general election.
But since Akin emerged as the party nominee before he made the comment that pregnancy "rarely" results from legitimate rape, some Republicans now see little choice but to back his campaign if the party hopes to pick up the four seats needed to take over the Senate.
McCaskill still faces a difficult route to re-election in the Republican-leaning state and has been running ads and raising money off what she portrays as Akin's "extreme" positions.
Follow Politics Now on Twitter and Facebook
[email protected]
Twitter: @LisaMascaroinDC