Akin ad features rape victim

Rep. Todd Akin is out with a new ad featuring a supporter who says she was raped and had an abortion.

Akin, who is trying to unseat Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill in Missouri, found his campaign in turmoil and faced a wave of criticism after an August television interview where he suggested that women rarely become pregnant after a “legitimate rape.”

In the ad, a woman named Kelly says she is a single mother, and “a woman who has had an abortion, I’ve been raped in the past.”

“The reason I’m voting for Todd and I’m so proud of him is because he defends the unborn. He’s a kind man, he’s a compassionate man, he has so much integrity,” she says.

Rick Tyler, a spokesman for Akin, would not comment on the placement of the ads or which markets they would be running in. McCaskill has maintained a steady 5- to 6-point lead in most recent Missouri polls, although Akin’s campaign says the race is much closer.

“The latest public poll by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch … had Todd 2 points behind Claire McCaskill,” Tyler told POLITICO on Wednesday. “That’s remarkable considering she has spent a record amount for Missouri on negative advertising. She has thrown the kitchen sink at Todd yet we are even.”

While national Republican committees have insisted they would not be spending money on the race after Akin’s comments, his campaign and the Missouri Republican Party are launching a nearly $700,000 TV ad blitz in the final days of the election.

It is unclear if any of the national committees provided the funds for the advertising.