Poll: McCaskill Beating Akin By 8 Points

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Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill has an almost double-digit lead against Republican Rep. Todd Akin, in a poll of Missouri released Friday.

McCaskill is ahead, 51 percent to 43 percent, according to Rasmussen. The survey of 500 likely voters was conducted Oct. 17, and has a 4.5 percent margin of error. Notably, the same poll sample for the presidential campaign finds Mitt Romney carrying the state solidly over President Obama, 54 percent to 43 percent.

McCaskill was perhaps the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent senator this cycle. However, Akin seriously damaged his campaign in late August, when he falsely claimed that women’s bodies can prevent pregnancy in cases of “legitimate rape,” a remarks widely condemned by fellow Republicans. Since then, he has also commented that McCaskill was not “ladylike” at their first debate, and compared her to a “wildcat” that was just let out of its cage.

The PollTracker Average shows McCaskill leading Akin, 49 percent to 40.1 percent.

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