Todd Akin Could Win Missouri Senate Race

Months ago, when the "legitimate rape" scandal broke, no one in their right mind thought Rep. Todd Akin had a chance. Well, there were some folks, some very solid and prophetic folks  --- like Dana Loesch --- who refused to throw Akin under the bus. But for the most part people couldn't run away fast enough, and that included the Republican Party's funding operations in D.C. My how things have changed --- and my how wise it looks today for Akin to have stood his ground, apologized and clarified his remarks, and plowed ahead with his campaign.

Check out the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Todd Akin draws closer to Claire McCaskill in Missouri Senate poll" (via Memeorandum):

Congressman Todd Akin has dramatically narrowed the lead of Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri’s nationally watched Senate race, according to a new poll.

But the poll — commissioned by the Post-Dispatch, News 4 and the Kansas City Star — also indicates that Akin’s “legitimate rape” comment in August continues to affect the race. McCaskill still enjoys a significant gender gap, and three-quarters of her supporters call Akin’s comment “somewhat” or “very” important to their decision.

The results show McCaskill leading with 45 percentage points to Akin’s 43 points among likely voters. That’s within the poll’s 4-point margin for error, indicating a closer race than two earlier independent polls that showed McCaskill with wider leads.

Akin's hammering McCaskill on corruption and hypocrisy. See the Columbia Daily Tribune, "Akin accuses McCaskill of profiting from husband’s deals":

An ad from Republican Todd Akin calling U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill "Corrupt Claire" because of federal subsidies of low-income housing owned in part by her husband is "ludicrous, insulting and hurtful," she said.

Akin, a six-term St. Louis congressman, is seeking to deny McCaskill, a Democrat, a second term in the Senate. His attack ad, which began running earlier this week, accuses McCaskill of playing "a corrupt Washington game" that sends money to her husband Joe Shepard's businesses.

"McCaskill's family pocketed $40 million in federal subsidies," the ad asserts. The claim is based on an Associated Press report that low-income housing projects owned in part by Shepard received $39 million in rent subsidies from 2007 to 2011. The subsidies cover the difference between rents collected and the cost of operating the apartments.

See also the Daily Beast, "Todd Akin: Lazarus Rises in Missouri."