Missouri Senator Roy Blunt and former Senators John Ashcroft, Kit Bond, John Danforth, and Jim Talent put out this joint statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt called U.S. Representative Todd Akin’s recent statements “totally unacceptable” and issued the following joint statement together with former Missouri U.S. Senators John Ashcroft, Kit Bond, John Danforth, and Jim Talent calling for Akin to step aside:

“We do not believe it serves the national interest for Congressman Todd Akin to stay in this race. The issues at stake are too big, and this election is simply too important. The right decision is to step aside.”

This applies more pressure than the national folks can, but this heavyweight group wouldn’t put out a public statement like this if they thought they could quietly get him out.

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