Mo. lawmaker won't quit US Senate race

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Rep. Todd Akin defied the nation's top Republicans and refused to abandon a Senate bid that has been hobbled by fallout over his comments that women's bodies can prevent pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape."

Akin took his message to network TV morning shows and conservative talk radio shows, declaring GOP leaders were overreacting by insisting he give up his quest to unseat Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, and to social media with appeals for donations on his Twitter feed claiming "liberal elites" are trying to push him out of the race.

"I misspoke one word in one sentence on one day, and all of a sudden, overnight, everybody decides, `Well, Akin can't possibly win,'" he said on a national radio show Tuesday hosted by former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. "Well, I don't agree with that."

Akin predicted he would bounce back from the political crisis threatening his campaign, including a call from presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney to leave the race, and capture a seat that is pivotal to Republican hopes of regaining control of the Senate.

He confirmed that Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan also called to ask him to drop out. But Akin reiterated his decision to stand his ground, saying he refused to be bullied.

"It's not right for party bosses to override" the voters of Missouri," Akin said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" today. He said he told Ryan that he was thinking things over and that he wants to "do what's right," but that he's not abandoning his race.