The survey shows McCaskill leading Akin, 48 percent to 38 percent, among 500 likely voters. | AP Photos Rasmussen: McCaskill up by 10 over Akin

Todd Akin has fallen behind Sen. Claire McCaskill by double digits in the Missouri Senate race, according to a Rasmussen automated phone poll released Thursday.

The survey taken Wednesday shows McCaskill leading Akin, 48 percent to 38 percent, among 500 likely Missouri voters. Nine percent preferred another candidate, and 5 percent were undecided.


In a July 30 Rasmussen poll — a week before Akin won the state’s Republican primary — he led McCaskill 47 percent to 44 percent in a hypothetical matchup. That, of course, was before his remarks that victims of “legitimate rape” rarely get pregnant because biological defenses kick in.

Akin downplayed the findings.

“The fact that Claire McCaskill is only polling at 48% after 72 hours of constant negative attacks on Todd Akin shows just how weak she is,” Akin’s campaign manager and son, Perry Akin, said in a statement.

McCaskill, for her part, said she didn’t believe the results. She wants Akin to remain in the race, so any evidence it’s a lost cause for Akin puts more pressure on him to drop out.

“Rasmussen poll made me laugh out loud,” McCaskill tweeted. “If anyone believes that, I just turned 29. Sneaky stuff.”