The deadline for Akin to drop out was 6 p.m. EST Tuesday. | AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch Deadline for Akin to exit race passes

Rep. Todd Akin isn’t going anywhere.

Resisting the full brunt of his party, the Missouri Senate candidate let a 6 p.m. EST deadline pass for him to get out of the Senate voluntarily and allow Republicans to pick a replacement.


Though Akin could technically still get out of the race, the process for dropping out now becomes far more cumbersome. He would have to petition a court to withdraw before Sept. 25. After that, Akin’s name would appear on the November ballot no matter what.

The GOP mounted a fevered 48-hour anti-Akin campaign after the six-term congressman said in a TV interview Sunday “legitimate rape” victims rarely get pregnant because female bodies have a way to “shut that whole thing down.”

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But the congressman grew seemingly more defiant with each statement of GOP outrage, dismissing claims that he was putting a must-win Senate seat for the party at risk. Sen. Claire McCaskill has been seen as one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators in the country, but her prospects are suddenly much brighter thanks to Akin’s blunder.

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Akin insisted he was guilty only of a single-word misstatement and called the mass condemnation an overreaction.

“We are going to continue with this race for the U.S. Senate,” Akin told Mike Huckabee on his radio show, adding that an “outpouring” of grassroots support would propel him into office.

In a TV ad Tuesday morning, Akin sought to appear contrite in order to move past a controversy that has isolated him from his party.

“Rape is an evil act,” Akin, looking squarely into the camera, said. “I used the wrong words in the wrong way and for that, I apologize. As a father of two daughters, I want tough justice for predators. I have a compassionate heart for the victims of sexual assault, and I pray for them.”

Akin added: “The fact is rape can lead to pregnancy. The truth is rape has many victims. The mistake I made was in the words I said, not in the heart I hold. I ask for your forgiveness.”

Call it naivete or fortitude, but Akin showed he wouldn’t buckle under the entire weight of his party. The pressure came from all corners of the GOP — from well-heeled spending groups that can make or break a candidate up to party standard bearer Mitt Romney.

About a dozen GOP senators were scheduled to co-host a fundraiser at the National Republican Senatorial Committee on Sept. 19, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, NRSC Chairman John Cornyn, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt and tea party favorite Mike Lee of Utah. All have since backed out of the event, a Republican source told POLITICO.

And the NRSC starkly warned Akin that if he continued with his “misguided” campaign, he’d do so without the millions of dollars the party committee would have spent on his behalf.

Blunt, along with four former Republican senators from Missouri — John Ashcroft, Kit Bond, John Danforth, and Jim Talent — called Akin’s remarks “totally unacceptable” and said “this election is simply too important” for Akin to stay put.

Romney agreed in a statement about two hours before Akin’s withdrawal deadline. “Today, his fellow Missourians urged him to step aside, and I think he should accept their counsel and exit the Senate race,” the presumed GOP nominee said.

Akin seems to believe the uproar will subside once the news cycle moves past his controversial comments. And with polls showing the race close and McCaskill highly vulnerable — Akin’s team circulated a poll from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling showing him narrowly ahead — the congressman thinks there’s time for him to rebound and that national money will pour back into the race if it remains close.

Republican leaders fear that no amount of apologizing can undo what they consider fatal damage to Akin’s candidacy. The NRSC and the powerful outside group Crossroads GPS vowed to withhold millions from the race if he stayed in. Some of the names that have surfaced as potential replacement candidates include two of Akin’s primary opponents, John Brunner and Sarah Steelman, as well as state Auditor Tom Schweich and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson.

Demands that he withdraw came from conservative commentators such as Ann Coulter and Mark Levin to moderate Northeastern senators like Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Olympia Snowe of Maine to Senate GOP leaders like McConnell and Cornyn. Both Romney and his vice presidential pick Paul Ryan made it clear to Akin they wanted him out.

Akin was unbowed.

“The people from Missouri that elected me know that I’m not perfect,” he said Monday. “We all make mistakes. When you make a mistake what you need to do is tell people you’re sorry. Don’t try and hide it.”

Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin contributed to this report.