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Davis said Akin had become a distraction and mistakenly said Obama had won Missouri four years ago.

"He's such an incredible distraction at this point. Republicans have such a wonderful chance to win Missouri — President Obama, I believe, won Missouri narrowly four years ago, the Missouri economy is not in good shape, Sen. McCaskill has voted pretty much in lockstep with President Obama and that's going to hurt her," he said.

"Well, if the next four months are spent talking about the remarkably dumb comments that Akin made a few days ago, that's certainly going to hurt the prospects for Republicans."

In the midst of Republican calls for an exit from the Missouri Senate race, Akin released a new campaign ad late Monday night saying "rape is an evil act" and asking voters to forgive him for his controversial remarks.

"I used the wrong words in the wrong way, and for that, I apologize," he says. “As the father of two daughters, I want tough justice for predators. I have a compassionate heart for the victims of sexual assault. I pray for them.”

A recent poll shows that 55 percent of Missourians don't believe Akin misspoke in his original remarks.