Akin Précis: National Coverage, Reactions, New Poll

A new Rasmussen poll indicates U.S. Senate Republican candidate Todd Akin—who held a notable lead before making his controversial comments about rape and pregnancy on Aug. 19—now slipped down 10 percentage points (48 to 38 percent) to incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.

ABCNews reporter Greg Krieg reports Akin's staffers suggested it is McCaskill, however, who should leave the race. “The fact that Claire McCaskill is only polling at 48 percent after 72 hours of constant negative attacks on Todd Akin shows just how weak she is,” Akin spokesman Perry Akin said in a statement. “If she can’t break 50 percent after a week like this, Democrats should ask Claire to step down.”

“Rasmussen poll made me laugh out loud,” McCaskill tweeted. “If anyone believes that, I just turned 29. Sneaky stuff.”

As Patch reported early Friday morning, Akin's online fundraiser meter indicates the resident is only $2,650 short of raising his second wave of individual campaign donations after he set a goal of $125,000.

UPDATED 10:10 A.M.: Akin's online fundraising efforts now read:  "We blew past our goal and ended up closer to $150,000! Thank you! However, Claire McCaskill is trying to rally her pro-abortion supporters to out-raise us and we can't let that happen. That's why we are relying on YOU! Help us keep the momentum going to defeat McCaskill and regain the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate. Donate now to help us reach our new goal of $200,000 by tonight!"

A Washington Post article states that "Akin is wrong about rape and pregnancy, but he’s not alone." The article cites Rep. Stephen Freind, R-Pennsylvania, as the first legislator to argue that rape prevents pregnancy in the late 1980s, saying the odds of a pregnancy resulting from rape were “one in millions and millions and millions.” Freind said he believed the trauma of rape causes women to “secrete a certain secretion which has the tendency to kill sperm.”

Some national indications are that Missouri now has been deemed America's abortion battleground.

The Washington Post article pointed out Akin was among the 227 co-sponsors of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, introduced earlier this year by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.

Thursday, Akin reported on his Facebook page:  ”Thousands and thousands of people have stepped up today and helped us raise over $100,000 in donations as small as $3. The message is loud and clear… the people of Missouri believe they should pick candidates, not party bosses or Washington elites.”

The final deadline for Akin to withdraw is Sept. 25. After that, his name cannot be replaced on the ballot.