Changes

The Republican Party was not united in this reconciliation, however. On September 30, Governor [[Chris Christie]] of [[New Jersey]] told ABC's ''This Week'' emphatically that he opposed the endorsement of Akin. A Rasmussen poll showed McCaskill leading Akin by 49 to 43 points among likely voters.<ref>http://www.humanevents.com/2012/10/01/christie-says-gop-should-not-support-missouris-akin/</ref>  Closer to election day, McCaskill ran radio and television spots featuring clips from [[RINO Backers]] criticizing Akin.<ref>http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/nick-pistor/claire-mccaskill-features-mitt-romney-in-new-ad/article_5c4a5e19-82b8-5d3d-b9b3-6d740bcc3e57.html</ref>

The Republican Party was not united in this reconciliation, however. On September 30, Governor [[Chris Christie]] of [[New Jersey]] told ABC's ''This Week'' emphatically that he opposed the endorsement of Akin. A Rasmussen poll showed McCaskill leading Akin by 49 to 43 points among likely voters.<ref>http://www.humanevents.com/2012/10/01/christie-says-gop-should-not-support-missouris-akin/</ref>  Closer to election day, McCaskill ran radio and television spots featuring clips from [[RINO Backers]] criticizing Akin.<ref>http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/nick-pistor/claire-mccaskill-features-mitt-romney-in-new-ad/article_5c4a5e19-82b8-5d3d-b9b3-6d740bcc3e57.html</ref>

Federal Election Committee documents released after the election showed that the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) quietly attempted to salvage Akin's campaign as election day approached, making two donations totaling $760,000 to the Missouri Republicans at the beginning of November 2012. The Missouri Party spent nearly that much money on large ad buys in the name of "W. Todd Akin" at the same time. Akin's adviser Rick Tyler has commented that by then the damage was done by NRSC's and Karl Rove's earlier actions. "They came in because they finally accepted what I had been saying publicly for weeks and that is that it was not possible to win a majority in the Senate without winning Missouri. But by the time they spent the money we were already going to lose Senate seats not gain them.  It was too late." <ref name="hill.com_20121207">Alexandra Jaffe, _The Hill_, December 7, 2012, [https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/271617-nrsc-funneled-760k-to-missouri-gop-in-final-days-of-election NRSC funneled $760K to Missouri GOP in final days of election]</ref>

Federal Election Committee documents released after the election showed that the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) quietly attempted to salvage Akin's campaign as election day approached, making two donations totaling $760,000 to the Missouri Republicans at the beginning of November 2012. The Missouri Party spent nearly that much money on large ad buys in the name of "W. Todd Akin" at the same time. Akin's adviser Rick Tyler has commented that by then the damage was done by NRSC's and Karl Rove's earlier actions. "They came in because they finally accepted what I had been saying publicly for weeks and that is that it was not possible to win a majority in the Senate without winning Missouri. But by the time they spent the money we were already going to lose Senate seats not gain them.  It was too late."<ref name="hill.com_20121207">Alexandra Jaffe, _The Hill_, December 7, 2012, [https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/271617-nrsc-funneled-760k-to-missouri-gop-in-final-days-of-election NRSC funneled $760K to Missouri GOP in final days of election]</ref>

Ultimately, Todd Akin lost the election to Claire McCaskill 39.2% to 54.7%.<ref>https://www.politico.com/2012-election/map/#/Senate/2012/</ref>

Ultimately, Todd Akin lost the election to Claire McCaskill 39.2% to 54.7%.<ref>https://www.politico.com/2012-election/map/#/Senate/2012/</ref>

===Apology about the wording===

===Apology about the wording===

In response to the demagoguery against him, Akin issued a general apology to anyone who misunderstood what he was saying.<ref>"Akin says he misspoke when making a comment about rape and abortion during the taping of The Jaco Report on FOX 2." [http://fox2now.com/2012/08/19/the-jaco-report-august-19-2012/]</ref> "I made a mistake. What I said was ill-conceived and it was wrong and for that I apologize." <ref>[http://www.akin.org/]</ref>

In response to the demagoguery against him, Akin issued a general apology to anyone who misunderstood what he was saying.<ref>"Akin says he misspoke when making a comment about rape and abortion during the taping of The Jaco Report on FOX 2." [http://fox2now.com/2012/08/19/the-jaco-report-august-19-2012/]</ref> "I made a mistake. What I said was ill-conceived and it was wrong and for that I apologize."<ref>[http://www.akin.org/]</ref>

President [[Barack Hussein Obama]] tried unsuccessfully to exploit the issue for personal gain with an unusual statement to the press on August 21: "So what I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn't have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health-care decisions on behalf of women."<ref name=wsj/> Such consistent RINOs as Senators [[Mitch McConnell]] of [[Kentucky]] and [[John Cornyn]] of [[Texas]], [[Scott Brown]], former senator from Massachusetts, and the normally conservative [[Ron Johnson]] of [[Wisconsin]], appeared to be acting on talking points provided to them as they rudely and unsuccessfully urged Akin to withdraw from the race.<ref name=wsj>Naftali Bendavid and Louise Radnofsky, "Crucial Senate Race in Uproar," ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''|date=August 21, 2012|page=A1}}</ref><ref name=wp>Paul Kane and Nia-Malika, "Republicans look to force Akin out of Senate race," ''[[The Washington Post]],''August 21, 2012 p. A1.</ref>

President [[Barack Hussein Obama]] tried unsuccessfully to exploit the issue for personal gain with an unusual statement to the press on August 21: "So what I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn't have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health-care decisions on behalf of women."<ref name=wsj/> Such consistent RINOs as Senators [[Mitch McConnell]] of [[Kentucky]] and [[John Cornyn]] of [[Texas]], [[Scott Brown]], former senator from Massachusetts, and the normally conservative [[Ron Johnson]] of [[Wisconsin]], appeared to be acting on talking points provided to them as they rudely and unsuccessfully urged Akin to withdraw from the race.<ref name=wsj>Naftali Bendavid and Louise Radnofsky, "Crucial Senate Race in Uproar," ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''|date=August 21, 2012|page=A1}}</ref><ref name=wp>Paul Kane and Nia-Malika, "Republicans look to force Akin out of Senate race," ''[[The Washington Post]],''August 21, 2012 p. A1.</ref>