ST. LOUIS, November 6, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Despite polling data that showed a neck-and-neck race up to the very end, Rep. Todd Akin has been beaten handily in his attempt to win Missouri U.S. Senate seat, according to early returns from the polls.
Akin conceded the race at around 9:40 p.m. local time. “Things don’t always turn out the way you think they’re going to,” the candidate told supporters. He went on to “thank God, Who makes no mistakes and Who is much wiser than we are.”
Akin’s race against incumbent Claire McCaskill was dominated by the media frenzy over his remarks on abortion in cases of rape. In response to a question from a TV reporter in August, Akin had appeared to question the likelihood that women will become pregnant in cases of “legitimate” rape.
Akin’s opponent, the mainstream media, and pro-abortion organizations seized upon the remarks, demanding that he leave the race. Even the Republican Party abandoned the embattled candidate, pledging to revoke all funding for Akin, and urging him to step aside.
However, the candidate instead issued an apology, and promised to forge ahead.
But despite his best efforts, Akin was unable to put the rape controversy behind him. According to the Associated Press, exit polling data found that a “solid majority” of voters gave serious consideration to Akin’s rape remark when determining their vote.
In his effort to regain control of the political narrative in the state, the candidate was faced with one major handicap: money. In addition to Republican Party funding, Akin also lost financial support from Crossroads GPS, the super PAC headed by Karl Rove.
Meanwhile, incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill raised huge amounts of campaign cash off of the controversy, which enabled her to hammer her opponent with ads reminding viewers of the rape controversy.
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Help for Akin arrived from other quarters, including the RandPAC, Senator Rand Paul’s political action committee, which stepped into the breach with a six-figure, anti-McCaskill ad buy. Akin received the backing of Republican figures such as Senator Jim DeMint, and former presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, as well.
But it wasn’t enough.
Troy Newman of Operation Rescue told LifeSiteNews.com tonight that the Republican Party has “only themselves to blame” for losing the key Senate seat. “The Republican Party, led by pro-abort Karl Rove, did a late-term abortion on Todd,” said Newman.
For the pro-life cause, Akin’s loss is a major blow.
McCaskill has voted to expand federal funding of embryo-destroying stem cell research, and to allow minors to cross state lines for abortions. She has also repeatedly voted in favor of additional federal funding for abortions in the U.S. and overseas.
Akin on the other hand is an unapologetic opponent of legal abortion. As a congressman, he has regularly earned a 100 percent pro-life voting record with the National Right to Life Committee, while scoring zero with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.
During the race, Akin revealed that he was arrested for participating in Operation Rescue protests in the 1980s.