Politics

Deadline to Withdraw Passes: Akin Remains in Race

He said he wasn't going to quit, and he didn't.

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Representative Todd Akin defied pressure from Republican leaders, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and refused to withdraw from the Missouri Senate race ahead of a deadline that passed today.

Akin, 65, is facing criticism and calls to step aside from his fellow Republicans two days after he said that "legitimate rape" rarely leads to pregnancy. Akin apologized for the remarks and vowed to stay in the race against Senator Claire McCaskill, who Republicans view as vulnerable as they seek to wrest control of the Senate from Democrats.