Former Republican U.S. Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri, who sunk a 2012 bid for Senate with a comment about 'legitimate rape,' has died at age 74.
FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2012, file photo, Todd Akin, then a Missouri Republican Senate candidate, campaigns in Florissant, Mo. Akin, whose "legitimate rape" comments during the 2012 U.S. Senate campaign were roundly criticized has died. He was 74.
“As my father’s death approached, we had people from all different walks of life share story after story of the personal impact he had on them,” Perry Akin said in a statement to The Associated Press. He added: “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
Akin faced pressure from the national GOP to withdraw and allow the state party to pick a replacement. He refused and ended up losing the race by nearly 16 percentage points, receiving 39% of the vote. Yet other Republican officials and officeholders across the U.S. occasionally echoed his remarks — signaling how conservative some of the party’s base had become on the issue.
He won a seat in the Missouri House in 1988 and served in the Legislature for 10 years. He won Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District seat in 2000 and was reelected five times. He also served on the board of the anti-abortion group Missouri Right to Life.
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