Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-MO) campaign told TPM Wednesday that the new public pledges of support from the likes of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich this week don’t mean that Todd Akin is suddenly a mainstay in the GOP.
“You can tell these endorsements are enthusiastic just by the way these Republicans waited until they were stuck with Todd Akin to finally support him,” said Erik Dorey, McCaskill spokesperson. “But this predictable influx of ‘support’ from the extreme wing of the Republican party doesn’t change the fact that Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, John Ashcroft, Roy Blunt, Tom Coburn, Ron Johnson, and droves of other Republicans didn’t support Todd Akin and asked him to step down.”
Blunt, a Missouri Senator, previously called on Akin to quit the Senate race after his “legitimate rape” comments drew fire from both sides of the aisle. After a Sept. 25 deadline for Akin to smoothly quit the contest passed Tuesday, Blunt said he’d support Akin’s run against McCaskill.
