Todd Akin Releases Apology, Asks Forgiveness

Rep. Todd Akin, a Republican who is seeking to unseat Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in November, issued an apology ad. The ad was first reported by Politico early Tuesday. 

The apology comes on the heels of comments he made Sunday on

The backlash over the comments went viral Monday, with the story heading up national news broadcasts and leading national Republican groups to withdraw support. President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney both condemned Akin's comments.

The L.A. Times reports that conservative super PAC Crossroads GPS, founded by former Karl Rove, is pulling its ads from the Missouri Senate race. Crossroads had been spending money on ads against McCaskill.

“The act speaks for itself,” Crossroads spokesman Nate Hodson told the Times on Monday.

See a roundup of Patch's previous coverage: .

At some point Monday, Akin's camp booked an appearance on Piers Morgan's CNN show. He canceled later in the day, prompting Morgan to run video of an empty chair while talking about Akin's cancellation. To view the complete video, click here.

NBC and CBS News are reporting that Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan called Akin to urge him to drop out. Akin said  from the race.

Our Patch Republican Influencer Poll as to whether Akin should leave the race. Missouri election law allows candidates to withdraw 11 weeks before Election Day. That means the deadline to exit the Nov. 6 election is 5 p.m. today (Aug. 21).