Senate candidate Todd Akin starts this day knowing many people in his own party want this to be his last day on the ticket. He has until 5 p.m. to decide whether to stay someplace where a lot of people don’t want him to be.
After a day of hearing a number of political leaders of his own party suggest he step aside and hearing others say his weekend comments are beyond unacceptable, Akin put out a statement apologizing again for what he said and noting that a mistake does not make someone useless. He concluded “We need a conservative in the United States Senate, and I am running to replace Claire McCaskill and get our country back on track.”
The statement was issued shortly after Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus told CNN’s Erin Burnett he wouldn’t say “anything that dumb” to begin with. But if he were Akin, he’d step aside so somebody with a better chance to win could run. “What he said…was biologically stupid,” says Priebus.
He has told her Akin is not welcome at the Republican National Convention that starts next Monday. Akin says he’s the father of two daughters and has always had a “compassionate heart” for sexual assault victims. In his series of apologies he has not said anything about his claim that a rape victim’s body reacts in a way to protect against pregnancy
