Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is calling on Republican Todd Akin to abandon his Senate bid in Missouri following the congressman’s comments about rape.
Romney on Tuesday pointed to a statement from a group of current and former Missouri legislators who urged Akin to drop his bid against Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Romney says, quote, "I think he should accept their counsel and exit the Senate race."
Akin said that a woman’s body has ways to prevent pregnancy in cases of what he called "legitimate rape."
Romney had previously denounced Akin’s comments, but he had not yet urged the Missouri congressman to drop out.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says he’s certain Akin truly is sorry for the comments he made. But McConnell says that "when the future of our country is at stake, sorry is not sufficient."
Akin has vowed to stay in the race and has described the calls to leave an "overreaction."
For the second time in two days, Akin went on the radio show hosted by former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to say he planned to stay in the race, despite constant urging from prominent members of his own party to step aside.
"I guess my question is: Is there a matter of some justice here?" Akin asked. After his original statement, "all of a sudden, overnight, everybody decides, ‘Well, Akin can’t possibly win.’ Well, I don’t agree with that."
The race has long been targeted by the GOP as crucial to regaining control of the Senate.
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"I hadn’t done anything morally or ethically wrong, as sometimes people in politics do," Akin said. "We do a lot of talking, and to get a word in the wrong place, still, that’s not a good thing to do, or to hurt anybody that way, it does seem like a little bit of an overreaction."
Hours earlier, he posted a video online in which he apologized again.
But ominous signs were mounting against the six-term legislator from suburban St. Louis, most notably the apparent loss of millions of dollars in campaign advertising money.
The decision to stay or go has some urgency. Missouri election law allows candidates to withdraw 11 weeks before Election Day. That means the deadline to exit the Nov. 6 election is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Otherwise, a court order would be needed to remove a name from the ballot.
The uproar began Sunday, when St. Louis television station KTVI aired an interview in which Akin was asked if he would support abortions for women who have been raped.
"It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," Akin said.
A day after nudging Akin by suggesting he "take time with his family" to consider his future, McConnell said it was time for Akin to drop out.
North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte joined McConnell, as did five patriarchs of the Missouri Republican Party.
Sen. Roy Blunt and four former senators from Missouri — John Ashcroft, Kit Bond, Jim Talent and John Danforth — issued a joint statement saying they "do not believe it serves the national interest" for Akin to remain in the race.
After his defiant statements on Huckabee’s show, Senate Republicans’ campaign arm reiterated that it would not support Akin’s campaign.
"The stakes in this election are far bigger than any one individual," said Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. By staying in the race, Akin "is putting at great risk many of the issues that he and others in the Republican Party are fighting for."
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