Akin Receives Cash Infusion for Late Ad Blitz

By Julie Sobel  //  November 1, 2012 | 8:52 a.m.

GOP Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin and the state party are making a joint ad buy in the neighborhood of $700,000 for the closing days of the race -- a huge buy compared to the congressman's previous small October buys.

The cost of the buy is greater than what Akin held in his campaign account at the end of last month. Akin finished September with just $533,000 in the bank. And as of Oct. 17, the Missouri Republican party only reported $375,000 in its campaign account. The National Republican Senatorial Committee declined to comment on the ad buy, but the state party's ability to finance the bigger buy could have come from a cash infusion from the NRSC.

If the NRSC spent money to fund the advertisement, it would be a reversal for the committee, which pulled out of the Missouri Senate race after Akin's controversial August comments on "legitimate rape" rarely causing pregnancy. The committee joined most other Republicans in calling on Akin to drop out of the race. When he declined to do so (and the final deadline passed), NRSC chair John Cornyn said he didn't think the race was winnable. "I just think any money we would have to spend there would be money we would have to pull away from other close races around the country which I think have a greater probability of electing a Republican senator," Cornyn said at the time. "So it's pretty much a business decision."

But with key Senate races trending in the Democrats' direction - Maine, Florida, Connecticut and Indiana, most notably - taking a flier in a state with a fairly conservative electorate makes sense. Missouri may now be a necessary pickup for Republicans to entertain netting four seats required to win back an outright majority.

Meanwhile, Now or Never PAC -- originally formed to support Akin's primary opponent Sarah Steelman -- announced they would spend $800,000 on helping Akin in the final days of the campaign. "Todd Akin may have not been our first choice for Republican nominee in the race to replace Claire McCaskill," said PAC spokesperson Tyler Harber in a statement. "But, Congressman Akin plays an important role in securing the Senate chamber." The ad essentially asks voters to hold their noses and choose Akin. The narrator says that Mitt Romney will need a GOP Senate, "And that's where Todd Akin comes in. You don't have to agree with everything he says, but in the Senate, you can be sure Akin will vote for Romney's policies."

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Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief
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