Though many Republicans have urged him to quit, Congressman Todd Akin continues his pursuit of a U.S. Senate seat. His revised campaign plan includes reaching out to small donors for a few dollars at a time.?
Missouri Republican Senate cadidate, Rep. Todd Akin, talks with reporters in Sedalia, Mo.
(AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, File)
EnlargeAbandoned by deep-pocketed national groups, Missouri Rep. Todd?Akin?is passing a collection plate among his remaining supporters, asking for a few dollars at a time in hopes of sustaining a Senate campaign jeopardized by his remarks about women's bodies and "legitimate rape."
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Akin Stays in; Brown Rejects Abortion LanguageAkin?claimed Thursday to have taken in more than $100,000 during a two-day online fundraising drive that he portrayed as a grassroots effort to circumvent "party bosses" who demanded that he drop out. But the six-term congressman will need much more than that to replenish a campaign account already diminished by a hotly contested primary.
"It's very difficult, when you have the limited base we have in Missouri, to send emails out asking for $3 at a time," said Pat Thomas, secretary of the Missouri Republican State Committee who has worked as a coordinator for numerous candidates. "I don't know how to build a war chest to do that."
Akin?now has to go forward without the firepower of well-funded political groups that had planned to pummel Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill with negative television ads.
If his money runs dry,?Akin?could confront a difficult choice: re-evaluate whether to remain in the race or adopt a bare-bones strategy relying on social media and socially conservative activists to counter the millions of dollars of mass media advertising expected from McCaskill and her allies.
First,?Akin?has to repair his reputation with fellow conservatives and, according to Thomas, "get back to the point where people think you're credible."
Federal records show?Akin?has purchased enough air time to run apology ads in Missouri's biggest TV markets through at least Monday.?Akin's?campaign said Thursday that it has spent more than $200,000 on the statewide apology commercials while ad trackers for his Democratic opposition described it as a $277,000 effort.
He's also working to mend fences. On Thursday,?Akin?attended a meeting of the conservative Council for National Policy in Tampa, Fla., site of the Republican National Convention, which he has agreed not to attend. He tweeted that his Wednesday fundraising goal had been met.
"Thousands of people stepped up and helped us raise over $100,000! The message is clear ... voters should pick candidates, not party bosses,"?Akin?said.
He then sent out a new fundraising email asking supporters to chip in $5 toward a goal of raising an additional $25,000. Earlier in the week, he pleaded for $3 donations.
Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee also issued a fundraising plea for?Akin?on Thursday, accusing the "Republican establishment" of a "carefully orchestrated and systematic attack." If the national GOP and the "money-rich" political action committees "won't help Todd?Akin?get us to the majority, then we'll do it without them," Huckabee wrote.
Akin?campaign spokesman Ryan Hite declined to say exactly how much has been raised by the online contributions, but he said they were just part of?Akin's?fundraising strategy, which still includes efforts to get larger donations from more traditional sources.
Akin's?campaign has not revealed how much money it has left. Before Missouri's primary, financial papers showed he had a little over $530,000 as of July 18. But he has spent steadily on ads since then. The next quarterly report is not due until Oct. 15, barely three weeks before the general election.
After winning the primary,?Akin?gained quick backing from national Republican and conservative groups focused on ousting McCaskill. But that support evaporated after?Akin?was asked in an interview that aired Sunday on St. Louis television station KTVI whether his general opposition to abortion extended to women who have been raped.
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