Fmr. DCCC chair Frost on Akin staying in race: It's harmful to Romney and GOP

The deadline to pull out from the Missouri Senate race has passed and Rep. Todd Akin - whose “legitimate rape” comments have become a hot topic for national discussion – has made it clear that he wants to stay in the race. Despite overwhelming calls from top Republicans to withdraw, Akin says he is “in this race for the long haul" and has done nothing morally or ethically wrong.

Both Mitt Romney and his vice presidential pick Paul Ryan have called on Akin to exit the Senate race. As a result of his defiance, Akin will face the first statewide race of his career with no mainstream GOP backing. Instead Akin is using his website to raise money and amass signatures for support.

Former Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Martin Frost says, “it’s very hard for party officials to force someone off the ballot. When I was chair of the DCCC we always tried to encourage people to run...but once they won the primary that was it. We never tried to force nobody off.”

Frost says that the controversy over Akin’s recent comments is “very harmful to Romney and to the Republican party.”

“Suburban women are the key swing voters in this race,” says Frost. “I’m not sure what the Republican Party does about this quite frankly.”