Claire McCaskill’s see no evil campaign

The Democratic senator and her team argue that Akin's "legitimate rape” remark isn't moving throngs of voters into her column, and they think that Akin can still win in a state that has grown increasingly conservative with large pockets of rural and Christian voters.

So McCaskill is ready to move beyond the national fury surrounding Akin. Instead, she’s embracing a more conventional attack, as if the “legitimate rape” remark never happened. She’s slamming Akin on Medicare, Social Security, student loans and even school lunches. There’s no mention of the “war on women. ” And she’s attempting to sound sympathetic to Akin as he’s faced an onslaught of calls from party bigwigs and conservative leaders for him to end his campaign immediately.

The strategy also serves another purpose: McCaskill now has a far better chance of winning her race against Akin than she would against a less controversial GOP replacement candidate. So while the entire Republican establishment and leading conservative voices from St. Louis to Washington are yelling for Akin to get out, McCaskill is quietly hoping he stays in. The more the issue dominates the race, the more pressure Akin will have to end his campaign. And if he does drop out, McCaskill could easily lose a seat that is key to the Democratic majority in the Senate.

While McCaskill certainly has sent out fundraising solicitations in the wake of Akin’s comments and conducted several national media interviews about it, how she views the next phase of the campaign was evident when she swung by a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Overland, Mo., just outside of St. Louis.

“It’s going to be an election between me and Todd Akin, ” McCaskill told reporters gathered next to her campaign RV. “I’m going to continue drawing those contrasts on many subjects where we have much different opinions — whether it’s Social Security, whether it’s Medicare, the minimum wage, student loans, school lunches, how we take care of veterans. There is a long laundry list of stark contrasts and that’s what we’re going to be talking about in this election. ”

Unmentioned in that laundry list: Whether “legitimate rape” rarely leads to pregnancies because female bodies can shut down, Akin’s now - infamous comments that have sent the six - term congressman’s Senate campaign into a tailspin. Indeed, interviews with many voters here show Akin’s comments won’t change their votes one way or the other and the congressman still has a solid base of support.

Still, McCaskill’s posture is a sharp contrast to the furious, behind - the - scenes effort taking shape among Missouri and Washington Republicans to push Akin out of the race because they are convinced he will lose.

Rob Jesmer, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, underscored that effort in a private email to Senate chiefs of staff earlier this week, urging them to “keep up the pressure over the next several weeks. ” One method, he suggested, was if senators publicly pressure Akin to step aside or directly lobby Akin and his son Perry Akin, who is his campaign manager.

“One way to do this is for members to call or email Todd directly and explain to him that every movement is bigger than one person, and that for the good of all that he believes and has fought for, it is important that he step aside, ” Jesmer wrote in the email obtained by POLITICO.

And Jesmer is getting even more help from the outside. Officials at the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, which bankrolled a blistering ad campaign slamming McCaskill for her support of “Obamacare, ” told POLITICO on Thursday that the big business lobby has “no intention” of getting involved in Missouri if Akin is the candidate.

But Akin, who has apologized for his remarks and said he simply misspoke, seems isolated but undeterred. Akin — who privately assured conservative leaders Thursday in Tampa that he won’t drop out — is trying to create an insurgent campaign relying heavily on social conservatives and evangelicals in hopes of chipping away at McCaskill’s steep financial advantage.

The timing on Akin’s decision - making is tight. He has until Sept. ۲۵ to obtain a court order if he wants to get out of the race, allowing the state party to pick a replacement. But the reality is he needs to get moving much sooner if he wants to drop out.

On Sept. ۲۵, general absentee ballots will begin to be sent out, and on Sept. ۲۲, local election authorities will mail military and absentee ballots overseas. It’s possible that any of the ۱۱۶ local election authorities or Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, a Democrat, could object to Akin’s request to drop out if they believed it would disrupt the electoral process, prompting a drawn - out court fight.

“This is not about politics, ” said Stacie Temple, spokeswoman with the Missouri Secretary of State. “The real issue is that there are very practical implications on the elections process. ”

That means there are probably about two weeks for Akin to make a final decision on whether to get out of the race before election officials begin final preparations for an Akin - McCaskill matchup.

Behind the scenes, top Republicans don’t want to get to that point. Persistent chatter among Missouri political operatives is the possibility that Akin cuts a deal with Ann Wagner — who is running for the House seat he is vacating. The idea: allow Akin to continue serving in Congress so he can keep his seat and give Wagner a chance to take on McCaskill. Wagner didn’t rule out the possibility of a Senate run in a Thursday statement that criticized Akin’s comments.

“I have been running for Congress in Missouri’s ۲nd District for ۱۶ months and will continue to work hard to earn the trust and confidence of every voter, ” Wagner said.

There are also a bevy of other potential replacements waiting in the wings, including Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, a veteran House lawmaker, and Akin’s two GOP primary opponents, John Brunner and Sarah Steelman.

Republicans who want Akin out got a boost Thursday when a Rasmussen survey found Akin’s poll numbers taking a sharp dive and McCaskill up by ۱۰. Democrats privately bashed the poll’s findings.

“If she can’t break ۵۰ percent after a week like this, Democrats should ask Claire to step down, ” Perry Akin said in a statement. “Todd is in this race to win; we will close this gap and win in November with the support of the grass roots in Missouri and across America. ”

Still, there has been a persistent vacuum in the race this week. McCaskill has barnstormed the state on a campaign trip this week focusing on veterans issues while Akin has not done any public events. He has stopped taking calls from many Missouri Republicans like his House colleague Rep. Vicky Hartzler. And he has been relying on advice from his wife, Lulli, a small group of advisers and social conservatives and evangelical leaders whom he met with Wednesday and Thursday in Tampa.

Connie Mackey, president of FRC Action PAC, the political arm of the Family Research Council, met with Akin on Thursday morning in Tampa and said “he was clear he was not going to drop out. ”

“He said it was the obligation to the people who have elected him six times, ” she said. “He felt an obligation to his supporters to not cave to the big knives. ”

Mackey added that her group would go up with TV and radio ads and launch a ground game to get the vote out on behalf of Akin in the fall, expecting money to flow more freely into the campaign once speculation over Akin’s candidacy ends.

But even she conceded that such financial support probably won’t be enough to supplant $۵ million from the NRSC and millions more from the powerful Crossroads GPS — both organizations have vowed to pull money out of Missouri if Akin stays in the race. On top of that, Missouri Republicans are taking steps to isolate him from the party. Akin was formally asked not to attend a Sept. ۸ Reagan Days event by the Butler County Republican Central Committee in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

And it’s this internal party war that has worried some of Akin’s most passionate backers.

“I think he’s a good Christian man,[but] I personally think he should get out, ” said a woman who declined to give her name but works at a Baptist church in nearby Ballwin. “I think he’s going to do more harm. But that’s between him and what God tells him to do. ”

Nearly two dozen voters interviewed here in his district offered a mix of views on whether Akin should get out, with several saying that his comments, while clumsy and offensive, wouldn’t affect their votes one way or another.

“There are so many issues that will decide the race. I don’t think we need to be on this. I don’t think it should overshadow the whole campaign, ” said Ed Oberkrom, a ۶۷ - year - old Air Force retiree. “It’s one issue, he made a mistake and misspoke. Give him the benefit of the doubt. ”

And it’s voters like Oberkrom who have McCaskill’s team ready to debate other issues.

"Everything is boring [in the campaign] these days,” she joked to a crowd of veterans in St. Charles.