Despite calls from Republican Party leaders to step down, Rep. Todd Akin announced he will remain in the Missouri Senate race against Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Tuesday marked the final day on which the embattled Republican could remove his name from the ballot. Akin has fought calls for him to exit the race since he said that victims of what he called "legitimate rape" could not become pregnant. He later apologized and said he used a poor choice of words, but not before the National Republican Senatorial Committee withdrew its support for his candidacy and outside spending groups pulled ads from media markets in the state.
"The decision was made by the voters of the state of Missouri and I have one purpose going into November, and that's replacing Claire McCaskill," Akin said during a Tuesday news conference declaring his intention to remain in the race.