JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Embattled GOP Congressman Todd Akin has made good on his promise to stay in Missouri's U.S. Senate race despite calls by top Republicans to quit following his comments about rape.
The final deadline for candidates to remove their names from the Missouri ballot passed Tuesday as Akin began a statewide bus tour. Akin is challenging Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Akin has repeatedly apologized since saying during an August television interview that women's bodies can avert pregnancy in cases of what he called "legitimate rape."
Top Republicans, including Mitt Romney, have urged him to drop out. He's also lost backing from the national GOP.
But late Tuesday, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, who'd called on Akin to quit last month, reversed himself, saying he and Akin agreed "the Senate majority must change."