todd achin'

Todd ‘Legitimate Rape’ Akin Loses to Claire McCaskill

U.S. Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) and Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (not pictured) address the media on September 24, 2012 in Kirkwood, Missouri. Gingrich was in the St. Louis area to attend a fundraiser for Akin's U.S. Senate campaign against incumbent Claire McCaskill.
Photo: Whitney Curtis/Getty Images2012 Getty Images

The Republican Party rallied around Todd Akin in the final weeks of the campaign, but voters in Missouri weren’t as quick to forgive the man who coined the term “legitimate rape,” then tried to defend himself by saying his opponent isn’t “ladylike,” comparing her to a dog, and posting a photo of a fetus on his website. CBS News and NBC News have called the race for Claire McCaskill, sending her back to the Senate for a second term. An Associated Press exit poll found that a majority of voters in Missouri gave the comment some consideration when casting their ballot, confirming that the offensive remark was what shut that whole thing down for Akin.

Todd ‘Legitimate Rape’ Akin Loses to McCaskill