Despite the pleadings of top Republicans, from Mitt Romney on down, to drop out of the Missouri Senate race, Rep. Todd Akin has held firm: He is staying in. An important deadline has now passed. Under Missouri election law, if Congressman Akin had agreed to quit the race before 5 p.m. Central time on Tuesday, all the state Republican Party committee needed do was name a replacement candidate in the next two weeks to face Sen. Claire McCaskill (D).
Now, on the eve of the Republican National Convention, the embarrassing spectacle of the party’s top figures trying to get the winner of a state primary to quit his race moves into a new phase. If Akin drops out by Sept. 25, his name can still be removed from the ballot, though with a court order. The two-week rule on naming a replacement would still apply. After Sept. 25, Akin’s name remains on the ballot, regardless of whether he’s actively running. An alternate Republican could run as a write-in.
The uproar over Akin’s candidacy began on Sunday, when the conservative House member referred to “legitimate rape” in explaining his views on abortion. “It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Akin said of pregnancies from rape, speaking on St. Louis television. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”
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