A Georgia Republican congressman said that former Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin, R, was "partly right" in asserting that victims of "legitimate rape" rarely become pregnant.

Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., a former obstetrician-gynecologist, said at a town hall meeting that Akin was “partly right” in his controversial suggestion, which was widely cited as a factor in his loss to Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, D, this past November.

Gingrey said, according to the Marietta Daily Journal:

“And in Missouri, Todd Akin … was asked by a local news source about rape and he said, ‘Look, in a legitimate rape situation’ — and what he meant by legitimate rape was just look, someone can say I was raped: a scared-to-death 15-year-old that becomes impregnated by her boyfriend and then has to tell her parents, that’s pretty tough and might on some occasion say, ‘Hey, I was raped.’ That’s what he meant when he said legitimate rape versus non-legitimate rape. I don’t find anything so horrible about that. But then he went on and said that in a situation of rape, of a legitimate rape, a woman’s body has a way of shutting down so the pregnancy would not occur. He’s partly right on that.”

[...]

“And I’ve delivered lots of babies, and I know about these things. It is true. We tell infertile couples all the time that are having trouble conceiving because of the woman not ovulating, ‘Just relax. Drink a glass of wine. And don’t be so tense and uptight because all that adrenaline can cause you not to ovulate.’ So he was partially right wasn’t he? But the fact that a woman may have already ovulated 12 hours before she is raped, you’re not going to prevent a pregnancy there by a woman’s body shutting anything down because the horse has already left the barn, so to speak. And yet the media took that and tore it apart.”

Akin originally told KTVI-TV in August: “First of all, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

Republicans quickly distanced themselves from Akin, urging him to end his bid for Senate to allow another GOP candidate to step forward. Mitt Romney, then the party’s presidential nominee, publicly said that Akin should end his campaign.

However, Akin, a congressman, resisted the calls for him to drop out, giving Democrats fodder to paint Republicans as out-of-touch with women voters. Another GOP Senate candidate, Indiana’s Richard Mourdock, also gave fodder to Democrats when he suggested that pregnancies by rape were “something God intended.” (Mourdock, like Akin, lost a Senate race on which Republicans had been counting to win.)

Gingrey addressed the cost of those controversies before making his own assessment of the science behind Akin’s remarks:

“Part of the reason the Dems still control the Senate is because of comments made in Missouri by Todd Akin and Indiana by Mourdock were considered a little bit over the top ... Mourdock basically said ‘Look, if there is conception in the aftermath of a rape, that’s still a child, and it’s a child of God, essentially.’ Now, in Indiana, that cost him the election.”

KENOSHA, Wis. -- Three days after Indiana GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock sparked a firestorm for saying that pregnancies from rape are "something God intended to happen," Vice President Joe Biden linked the remark - along with another by controversial candidate by Missouri GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin -- to the Republican ticket. 

"They made it very clear that they do not believe a woman has a right to control her own body," Biden said of Republican standard-bearers Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. "They can't even get up the gumption to condemn the statements made by 2 of their candidates for United states Senate."  

This summer, Missouri candidate Akin designated "legitimate rape" as a scenario in which physical pregnancy could not occur, prompting Republican leaders - including Romney - to urge him to exit the competitive race. 

Romney called Akin's language "offensive and wrong" but was less vigorous about Mourdock's statement, saying he "disagreed" but still backs him. 

"It's not enough to tell me you don't agree," Biden said Friday, alluding to Romney's distance from Mourdock's statement but refusal to rescind his endorsement of the Indiana candidate. "It's having the moral courage to stand up and say what they said was wrong, simply wrong." 

Biden has consistently been critical of the Republican ticket's views on abortion, but he has not specifically named either of the two controversial Senate candidates before. 

The vice president's critique came at his last event of a day-long swing through Wisconsin. He will travel to Lynchburg, VA tomorrow for a rally, but the campaign has cancelled a planned Virginia Beach event due to an impending storm. 

Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said Wednesday that his controversial comments regarding conception following rape are being taken out of context. At a Tuesday night debate versus Democratic opponent Joe Donnelly, he said that when women become pregnant after being raped, “that’s something God intended.”

The Indiana state treasurer said Tuesday in response to a question about abortion rights: "I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God and I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something God intended to happen."

Mourdock, a favorite of Tea Party supporters, said Wednesday that his comments were inelegantly stated, and subsequently mischaracterized by Democrats.

"I am a much more humble person this morning. Because so many people mistook, twisted, came to misunderstand the points that I was trying to make," he said at a press conference in Indiana. "And if, because of the lack of clarity in my words, that they came away with the impression other than I stated a moment ago -- that life is precious, that I abhor violence and that I'm confident God abhors violence and rape -- if they came away with any impression other than that, I truly regret it."

Mourdock's comments not only threaten to make a competitive Senate race more challenging for the GOP, but also, by proxy, exacerbate Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's struggles with female voters.

Romney appeared in a television ad on Monday that endorsed Mourdock, the only such ad the GOP standard-bearer has cut for a Senate candidate this cycle. The Romney campaign released a statement on Tuesday evening taking exception to the Indiana Senate candidate's comments, and Mourdock said on Wednesday that he hadn't spoken to Romney or any other Republican who had urged him to apologize.

Romney's campaign issued a statement on Wednesday reiterating its support for Mourdock, while emphasizing its differences from Mourdock on allowing abortion in cases of rape and when the mother’s health is in danger.

Democrats have tried to make hay of the controversy, releasing a flurry of statements demanding that Romney more forcefully disavow Mourdock and take down the television ad. (Mourdock said Wednesday that the ads continued to run in Indiana.)

"For those who kind of want to twist the comments, and use them for partisan, political gain -- I think that's wrong with Washington these days," Mourdock said of the response his comments had provoked. "I'm confident that Hoosier voters are going to be moving on and supporting us in big numbers in 13 days."

The controversy threatened to remind voters of other Republicans' comments this election about rape, most notably Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin's comments earlier this summer asserting that "legitimate rape" rarely results in pregnancy. Republicans more sharply distanced themselves from Akin, a congressman, and urged him to drop out of the race.

Akin never withdrew, though, a move which is widely regarded to have hurt the GOP's chances of beating Democratic incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri and, by extension, retake the U.S. Senate. Republicans must pick up a bet of four seats on Nov. 6 -- three, if Romney is elected president -- in order to wrest control of the upper chamber from Democrats. The GOP entered the 2012 elections with hopes of achieving that goal, but candidates' missteps and better-than-expected performances by some Democrats have made control of the Senate an open question in this election.

Whether this hurts Mourdock's race versus Donnelly -- or is able to translate into a political millstone for Romney -- is an open question in the waning days before Election Day. Mourdock took strides toward reassuring important women voters of his stance.

"I don't think God wants rape, because rape is evil," he said. "I want to assure every woman who hears this, who hears the story of this, that I abhor it, and I'm confident God abhors this."

Today's final deadline for embattled Missouri Republican Senate nominee Todd Akin to withdraw from the race is just hours away, and he has scheduled a news conference at 3:00 pm ET.

Is he potentially dropping out of the contest?

Not a chance, his campaign says.

"Staying in the race, as we've said," Ryan Hite, the campaign's communications director, said in a text message to NBC News. 

"Just kicking off bus tour today and talking about Missouri Commonsense values as the bus tour title suggests," Hite continued. "Nothin[g] earth shattering."

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According to Akin's campaign website, the Missouri Common Sense Bus Tour launches today and runs through Friday.

*** UPDATE *** Declaring that he "was given a trust" after winning a three-way Republican primary contest in August, Akin this afternoon affirmed he wouldn't quit his senate race.

"Over the period of the last number of weeks, a number of people have asked me, 'Are you quitting, are you dropping out?" Akin told supporters this afternoon. He added, "I don't believe that that is really my decision. The decision was made by the voters of the state of Missouri."

The event, meant to mark the kickoff of Akin's bus tour, was billed as a press conference, though Akin didn't take questions from the media.

Rep. Todd Akin, GOP candidate for the Missouri Senate, recently famous for his "legitimate rape" comments told NBC News that he's "totally in" and has no plans on dropping out of the Missouri Senate race despite many calls from leading Republicans to do so.

A cheerfully upbeat Akin said that internal polls conducted by his campaign showed a close race, one that he was "confident" he could win.

When asked whether the loss of national money from the Republican National Committee and right leaning Super PACs would hurt him, Akin responded, "people don't like the party bosses telling them to put somebody in after they have already elected somebody." He continued, "Everywhere I go, people come up to me and say keep up the fight, so I'm serving them."

Akin then drove his late 90s Ford Explorer off the Capitol grounds, on the rear bumper was a sticker "One Nation Under God" with an American flag.

Updated at 8:30pm ET TAMPA, Fla. — Tropical Storm Isaac has forced Gulf State governors to delay or possibly abandon their trips to the Republican convention. 

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal have said that, at a minimum, they will be delaying their trips to Tampa. 

On Sunday Jindal issued a statement noting that a hurricane watch is in effect for the New Orleans metro area and the parishes adjacent to Lake Pontchartrain. He urged the people in that area to ensure that they had an evacuation plan in place, as well plenty of water, non-perishable food items, and other essentials they may need.

Earlier Sunday, Kyle Plotkin, Jindal's communications director, told NBC News that the governor would not leave people in his state in "peril."
"The Governor was slated to speak at the convention in 2008 when (Hurricane) Gustav hit, he not only didn’t speak, he didn’t even go.  He will certainly not leave the state if our people are in peril," Plotkin said in an email.

Apart from the Gulf State governors, the prominent Republicans who won’t be in Tampa are primarily party leaders of the past, as well as one failed GOP presidential hopeful, and a few GOP Senate contenders.

Former President George W. Bush and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, have both decided to not attend the convention, but former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is scheduled to be there and has been given a featured speaking spot on Wednesday night.

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National conventions are partly designed to honor those who have brought the party victory in the past. Ronald Reagan gave seven GOP convention addresses, the first of them as an unsuccessful presidential contender in 1968, asking the delegates to make Richard Nixon’s nomination unanimous, and the last of them his farewell at 1992 event in Houston, one of the most poignant convention performances of the television era.

In that 1992 farewell, Reagan reminded delegates of the creed that still defines Republicans today: “We believe that no power of government is as formidable a force for good as the creativity and entrepreneurial drive of the American people.”

But not all ex-presidents are equal in terms of their stature after leaving office.

When Reagan left office, 63 percent of Americans approved of his performance as president. But when George W. Bush left office in 2009, his Gallup approval rating was only 34 percent. So it’s hardly surprising that Bush won’t be at the Tampa convention. Former Vice President Dick Cheney will also not be attending.

The 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will be another Tampa non-attendee, but the man who chose her to be his running mate, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, is also slated to be speaking at the convention on Wednesday night.

Another Tampa absentee will be former ambassador to China and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, whose bid for the Republican nomination found little support among primary voters.

At least four GOP Senate candidates will be skipping the convention: Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri – whom party leaders are pressuring to exit the race after his inflammatory rape comments -- New Mexico’s Heather Wilson, Virginia’s George Allen and Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg. All four are in what are likely to be competitive races, although Akin’s future as a candidate remains uncertain.

Another Republican Senate candidate in a competitive race, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, will be spending one day at the Tampa convention.

NBC's Jamie Novogrod contributed reporting.

Missouri Rep. Todd Akin again rejected dropping out of the Missouri Senate rate amid Republican fears that he's become too politically toxic to win. 

"We're going to be here through the November election, and we're going to be here to win," Akin said at a press conference in Missouri arranged on short notice. 

The conservative congressman has been under fire since last Sunday, when he said on a public affairs show that "legitimate rape" rarely leads to pregnancy. For that comment, Akin has apologized, but virtually the entire Republican leadership — including presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney — have urged Akin to step aside, and allow Republicans to name a different candidate for Senate.

Akin has spent the past few days in Tampa, the site of the forthcoming Republican National Convention, rallying social conservative leaders behind his flailing candidacy. 

"Our position on him and his candidacy has not changed," Tony Perkins, of the socially conservative Family Research Council, said Thursday on MSNBC.  "He has a very difficult road ahead of him, and I think he's still pondering his decision as to what he does, although at this point, he said he's going to stay in."

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a prominent supporter of Akin's in a hard-fought, three-way primary, also came to the congressman's defense. 

"Who ordered this "Code Red" on Akin?" Huckabee asked supporters in an email on Thursday. "If Todd Akin loses the Senate seat, I will not blame Todd Akin … I'm waiting for the apology from whoever the genius was on the high pedestals of our party who thought it wise to not only shoot our wounded, but run over him with tanks and trucks and then feed his body to the liberal wolves."

The Missouri Senate race is crucial to Republicans' hopes of winning back the Senate. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill had been seen as vulnerable, though she's seen as having a political advantage after Akin's comments. She has refused to address the controversy over Akin's campaign fortunes, saying only that she expects to face him as her general election opponent. 

Akin could still drop out by Sept. 25, allowing the state GOP to name a replacement. Akin would have to ask a court to remove his name from the ballot in that instance, and pay for the cost of reprinting the ballots. 

Republicans needn't worry about Hurricane Issac bearing down on Tampa next week; "Hurricane Todd" Akin has already overshadowed the GOP's national convention, according to Obama campaign officials.

Senior brass from the president's re-election team told reporters that the Florida-based convention had already been marred by Missouri Rep. Todd Akin's controversial suggestion earlier this week that "legitimate rape" rarely leads to pregnancy.

"Hurricane Todd has already borne down on Tampa and the damage has been done.  And I don’t think that whether he stays on the ballot is that material," a senior campaign official told reporters gathered for a background briefing in Washington when asked whether they wanted to see Akin stay on the ballot in Missouri.

Akin has weathered demands from senior Republicans, including Mitt Romney, to step aside from his race to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri. Though Akin has since apologized for his initial comments about rape, his political brand has become toxic, and has jeopardized not only Republicans' chances of winning back the Senate, but also the GOP's hopes of making inroads with women voters nationally.

To that end, the Obama campaign has sought to tie Akin to vice presidential contender Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and the Romney campaign as a whole.

“It is true that Paul Ryan is, on these issues, Todd Akin’s ideological twin,” an Obama campaign official said.

The official went on to say: “This is the most radical ticket on these issues, and not just on women’s health and choice issues, but also on pay equity issues, things that are fundamental to women in this country. So, you know, we’ve earned the gender gap through the advocacy of the president ... but there’s no doubt that they have contributed to that through their positions and now through the appointment of Congressman Ryan."

The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed that voters are far more confident in President Barack Obama’s ability to deal with issues of concern to women than Mitt Romney.

The Obama campaign also continued its attempt to frame the Republican Party -- and specifically, the convention -- as only catering to a very conservative base.

“They have no ability to expand the electorate.  They have looked at the Latino vote, the fastest growing voting block in this country and have decided to send out [Kansas Secretary of State Kris] Kobach to be their person at the convention.  They’re going to have [Sheriff] Joe Arpaio speak.  I mean, I may pay to livestream that.  That is going to be a great moment for the Obama campaign,” one campaign official joked.

(Kobach is known for co-authoring Arizona’s controversial immigration bill that was partially upheld by the Supreme Court this year. Sheriff Arpaio is known for his outspoken opposition to illegal immigration, and is currently being sued by the Department of Justice for “discriminatory and otherwise unconstitutional law enforcement actions against Latinos.” He'll be speaking not on the convention stage, but to a small group of Western state Republicans.)

As for the tradition of the opposing party keeping a low profile during the convention, the Obama campaign dismissed that notion.

“It’s not unprecedented for principals to be out,” said one campaign official, noting that there are 75 more days until the election. "We’re going to use each and every one of those days and make the most of it."

The Obama campaign's counterprogramming will include a presidential college tour in Iowa, Colorado and Virginia to highlight “the stark choice of going forward or moving back." Vice President Joe Biden will also be in Florida for two days next week, including a stop in Tampa on Monday.  

“Again, 75 days left, Florida is a critical state. We’re not going to cede that state for four days just because they’re having their convention.”  The official continued, “I don’t think that they’re going to hold back during out convention.”

Other topics addressed in the briefing:

THE RYAN EFFECT:  The Obama campaign said the pick of Paul Ryan gave little or no bump to the Romney campaign. After pointing out that Sen. John McCain received a nine point bump after the picking Sarah Palin, a campaign official noted,” Ryan failed the Palin test here and he is a point underwater.”

MEDICARE: “We’re happy to have this debate,” a campaign official said about Medicare while accusing Ryan of having concocted a "voucher plan" multiple times. The official said the debate over Medicare is not one Republicans are poised to win.

BILL CLINTON AS A PRINCIPAL: Expect to see the former president out on the campaign trail stumping for the current president a great deal after the Democratic National Convention is over. On top of a prime speaking spot at the convention and a new commercial in support of Obama’s economic plan, Clinton is willing to give “a significant amount of time” stumping for the campaign.  Obama officials believe he is an “important messenger.”

PERSUASION, REGISTRATION, TURN OUT:  Those three words are the story the Obama campaign wants to have told right now. They believe their registration ground game in swing states far surpasses Romney’s and that will make up for the amount of money being spent by outside political groups that support Romney’s campaign. “Our numbers are going to continue to outpace 2008 in both registration and voter contact,” one official said. While there is more they admit they need to get done on the ground, they showed confidence in their ability to register even more voters in the fall when colleges and universities start classes again. “You haven’t seen nothing yet, because kids are coming back to campuses.  What we learned in 2008 is you will see a major increase in the fall” in terms of voter registration said the same official.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – One day after Rep. Todd Akin vowed to stay in the race for US Senate, dismissing calls from across the Republican party to step aside, Sen. Claire McCaskill welcomed Akin back to the campaign by bashing him for abandoning veterans during his years in Congress.

 Visiting two VFW halls near St. Louis on Wednesday, McCaskill, the Democrat Akin is hoping to unseat here in Missouri, went through a list of Akin votes that took more than two minutes to recite.

 Audiences were mostly male and senior citizen.  Survivors of combat in Vietnam – and at least one World War II veteran – looked on beneath baseball caps decorated with military insignia as she accused Akin of blocking bonuses for troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan and voting against health care benefits for reservists and national guard members.

 “So that’s kind of the list,” McCaskill said of Akin’s voting record.  “Now, I don’t have a list like that."

 The attack did not include any mention of the recent controversy embroiling Akin.

 Sunday, Akin told a television interviewer that women could biologically prevent pregnancies resulting from what he called “legitimate rape.” 

 The remarks set off a firestorm, but Wednesday McCaskill only alluded to them broadly.

 During a press conference outside a VFW home in nearby Overland, McCaskill brushed aside questions about Akin’s future.

 “The voters have spoken, and he’s the nominee,” McCaskill said.

 “We’re going to draw the contrasts that I think are necessary so that voters know that he’s outside the mainstream, he’s very extreme,” she added later.

 Tuesday, Akin let a deadline for withdrawing from the Senate race pass.

 He told NBC’s Matt Lauer during a Wednesday interview on the TODAY show that his nomination was a “decision made by the citizens of our state, not the party bosses.”

 McCaskill’s VFW visits were part of a so-called “Vets for Claire” listening tour that the campaign says was arranged prior to the Akin controversy.

 A VFW official in Overland asked reporters to hold McCaskill’s press conference outside the building, in order to keep the organization compliant with rules prohibiting political activity by 501(c)(3) charity groups.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan admitted Wednesday that he told Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) to end his bid for the U.S. Senate, and noted he is “comfortable” with presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s stance on abortion.

Akin “should have dropped out of the race,” Ryan told reporters on his campaign plane while flying from Virginia to North Carolina. “But he is not, he is going to run his campaign and we are going to run ours.”

The single phone call between Ryan and Akin, according to the Wisconsin congressman, went how “you would imagine.” There are no additional plans to speak with Akin going forward in order to convince the Missouri congressman to reconsider continuing his bid to replace current Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

Ryan, who co-sponsored anti-abortion legislation with Akin, said he is proud of his opposition to abortion rights, and brushed off the vote as a bi-partisan measure. The House Budget Chairman is on board with Romney's position on abortion rights moving forward.

Related: Ryan on Akin: 'Rape is rape'

"Look I'm proud of my record," Ryan said. “Mitt Romney is going to be president and the president sets policy. His policy is exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. I'm comfortable with it because it's a good step in the right direction."

President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign criticized this switch on Ryan’s beliefs.

“As a Republican leader in the House, Paul Ryan worked with Todd Akin to try to narrow the definition of rape and outlaw abortion even for rape victims. He may hope that American women never learn about this record, but they deserve an answer to why he wanted to redefine rape and remove protections for rape victims,” campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith wrote in a statement.