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: Jeff Roberson/AP Photo
Just a few days ago, Todd “Legitimate Rape” Akin was persona non grata in most Washington Republican circles. But, now that he’s definitely not dropping out of his Missouri Senate race, GOP leaders have started to warm to him: Oklahoma senators Tom Coburn and Jim Inhofe and South Carolina senators Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham will serve as honorary co-hosts of an Akin fund-raiser on Capitol Hill this coming Wednesday. It’s worth noting that all four of those guys hail from some of the country’s most solidly Republican states; we don’t expect GOPers with anything to lose this November to publicly get behind Akin any time soon.
