The Tea Party Express, which condemned Todd Akin after his “legitmate rape” comments in August, is among the conservatives and Republicans willing to give Akin a second look now that the deadline for Akin to drop out of the Missouri Senate race has passed.
TPM spoke to Tea Party Express chair Amy Kremer via text message from a Tea Party Express bus tour stop in Montana Thursday.
“After the tour is over, we will reevaluate all of the races and see where we might make a difference,” she said. “As you know, all of these things are fluid and changing daily. Therefore we are staying focused on the tour for the time being.”
Kremer compared Akin unfavorablty to Tea Party Express-suppported candidates like Christine O’Donnell and Sharron Angle in calling him to quit the race last month.
“One of the lessons we learned in 2010 is that we need candidates who are not only conservative, but are capable of putting together a strong campaign against liberal opponents,” she said in a statement on August 20. “Akin’s frequent ‘Bidenisms’ are distracting from the important issues at hand.”
Conservative groups and the National Republican Senatorial Committee are warming to Akin. On Thursday, Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-SC) PAC pledged nearly $300,000 to support Akin’s bid.
