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Former US Representative Todd Akin, a conservative Republican from Missouri whose comment that women’s bodies have a way of avoiding pregnancy in case of ‘legitimate rape’ sank his candidacy for the US Senate and has become a narrative edifying for other GOP candidates, died Sunday evening. He was 74 years old.
Akin had cancer for several years, his son Perry said in a statement. He died at his home in Wildwood, a suburb of St. Louis.
“As my father’s death approached, people from all walks of life shared story after story the personal impact he had on them,” Perry Akin said in a statement to The Associated Press.
“He was a devout Christian, a great father and a friend to many. We have many fond memories of him driving the tractor on our annual hay ride, to his fascinating delivery of the history of freedom on the 4th of July in the full uniform of a colonial minuteman. The family is grateful for his heritage: a man with a servant’s heart who stood up for the truth.
Akin represented a Republican-leaning eastern Missouri district that included suburbs in the St. Louis area for 12 years, relinquishing a secure seat to run for the United States Senate in 2012. He emerged from an overcrowded primary of the GOP to challenge the then United States Democratic senator. Claire McCaskill, only to seriously damage Republicans’ chances of winning back a majority in the Senate less than two weeks later.
Akin, a staunch opponent of abortion, was asked in an interview with a St. Louis television station whether he supported permitting abortion for women who have been raped. He replied that “from what I understand from doctors” that such pregnancies are “really rare”.
He added: “If it is legitimate rape, the female body has ways of trying to silence it.”
His comments sparked an uproar. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney immediately berated Akin and said his campaign would allow abortions in such cases.
Criticism of Akin’s remarks clouded his candidacy for the US Senate until the very end, making him a symbol of how Republicans could grope races they had a good chance of winning with a candidate deemed too low. law. Akin’s campaign initially said he “misspoken”, and Akin later said he was wrong.
Akin has come under pressure from the national GOP to step down and allow the state party to choose a replacement. He refused and ended up losing the race by almost 16 percentage points, receiving 39% of the vote. Yet other Republican officials and officials across the United States have at times echoed his remarks – signaling how conservative parts of the party’s base have become on the issue.
Two years later, Akin published a book, “Firing Back,” in which he accused GOP leaders of abandoning him and letting McCaskill win and branding news agencies as bullies. In the book, he also retracted his public apologies for his “lawful rape” remark.
Akin never ran for office again, although in early 2015 he briefly fueled speculation about a main challenge in 2016 for U.S. GOP Senator Roy Blunt with remarks that Tea Party Republicans wanted “new blood”.
Akin was born July 5, 1947 in New York City, but grew up in the St. Louis area. He received a bachelor’s degree in engineering and management from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts in 1970, served in the United States military, and worked for IBM. He worked in business management at Laclede Steel Co. in St. Louis.
He won a seat at Missouri House in 1988 and served in the Legislature for 10 years. He won the seat of Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District in 2000 and has been re-elected five times. He also served on the board of directors of the Missouri Right to Life anti-abortion group.
In the 2012 US Senate primary, Akin faced two formidable opponents, former state treasurer Sarah Steelman and businessman John Brunner.
Many Democrats believed McCaskill’s best move to win re-election would be with Akin as the GOP candidate. His campaign ran television commercials suggesting that Akin was too conservative, Brunner was not a reliable conservative, and Steelman stood for “more politics as usual”.
Republicans took the announcements as McCaskill’s attempt to help Akin win the GOP primary. An autobiography McCaskill published in 2015 said she also tried to boost Akin’s campaign by urging him through distribution channels to resume airing a TV commercial featuring the former candidate. GOP presidential curator and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
McCaskill’s moves have paid off. Akin prevailed in the eight-person GOP field with just 36% of the vote.
Information on the funeral was not announced. Survivors include Akin’s wife Lulli Boe Akin, mother Nancy Bigelow Akin, four sons, two daughters and 18 grandchildren.
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