Todd Akin Attempts to Tout Support from Women

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. -- Nearly a month after making inflammatory comments about "legitimate rape," Republican U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin attempted to show strong support from women with a rollout of a women's coalition this week.

The campaign put together statements from female supporters, scheduled a rollout event, and even launched a website touting support.

The original Women for Akin website was uploaded early Tuesday morning. It showed a photo of Akin standing with three women: A southwest Missouri Republican operative, his wife Lulli - both obviously supporters of Akin, along with a photo of Corinne Matti, a paid Democratic campaign tracker.

"I suspect they were so desperate to find women that they had to borrow one of ours," McCaskill spokeswoman Caitlin Legacki told the Post Dispatch on Wednesday.

In addition to the photo showing a photo of a Democratic operative, the website contained an awkward spelling error: "I'm a Women and I Support Todd," it said across the top. The Akin campaign said that the website, apparently hastily uploaded, was "simply a draft version not approved for public release."

Later in the day, the Akin campaign hosted an event featuring its female supporters in St. Louis. Akin spoke only briefly to a couple hundred supporters in St. Louis about his mother and read a poem, but did not address his statements about rape, abortion, or take questions from reporters.

See Also:
Todd Akin's Visit to Ozarks Met With Cheers, Protests
WEB EXTRA: Extended Interview With Todd Akin