Republican Rep. Todd Akin has refused to drop out of Missouri’s Senate race, defying calls from leaders of his own party who say he could hurt GOP chances this November. Akin sparked a national controversy over the weekend after he told an interviewer that women are somehow capable of blocking pregnancy during what he called a “legitimate rape.” Republicans from presidential candidate Mitt Romney to Karl Rove to Senate leaders urged Akin to withdraw before a Tuesday deadline for Missouri candidates. But on Tuesday, Akin told radio host and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee he plans to continue his bid.

Rep. Todd Akin: “Certainly, the institutional side of the party is very lined up. I do receive continuing calls from other congressmen and people who are very supportive of what we’re trying to do. And I guess my question is: Is there a matter of some justice here? That I misspoke one word in one sentence in one day, and all of a sudden, overnight, everybody decides, 'Well, Akin can't possibly win.’ Well, I — you know, I don’t agree with that. The Americans that I know, the people I know in Missouri — when you make a mistake, nobody expects us to get every word perfectly. And you tell 'em you're sorry, you look 'em in the eye and say, ’I didn't mean to hurt anybody’ — I really didn’t. And yet, on the other hand, there’s a cause here. There’s a cause about the very heart of what America is.”

In a message posted to his Twitter account Tuesday night, Akin told supporters: “Donations are pouring in. Thank you for standing up against the liberal elite.”