Todd Akin stands alone. Minutes after Akin vowed to remain the Republican nominee in the Missouri Senate race, the full infrastructure of his party abandoned him.
John Cornyn (R-TX), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, called on Akin to “reconsider” staying in the race and then reportedly warned him that if he does stay in, he won’t have any financial help from the committee.
Around the same time, the super PAC founded by Karl Rove said it had abandoned the Senate race as well, leaving Akin without valuable air cover in his bid to unseat Sen. Claire McCaskill (D).
The moves came after several elected Republicans called on Akin to step down, including Sens. Scott Brown (MA) and Ron Johnson (WI). Mitt Romney turned against him.
The loss of Crossroads and NRSC support would likely leave Akin vastly outgunned in a race that is crucial to GOP efforts to regain control of the Senate. While Akin has some continued support from tea party and social conservative groups that backed his candidacy in the primary, it’s unlikely that those folks could raise enough money to counter McCaskill on the air.
A Missouri GOP source told TPM Monday that local Republicans are busy looking for Akin replacements despite his insistence he will remain in the race.
Akin first vowed to stay in the race on Mike Huckabee’s radio show Monday. He tweeted his promise soon after, and reiterated it once again on Sean Hannity’s radio show, hours after the GOP turned on him. Akin needs to make a final decision by the end of the day Tuesday to allow Republicans to easily replace him on the ballot.
