William Todd Akin was an American politician. He was a businessman who served in the United States House of Representatives for Missouri’s 2nd congressional district from 2001 to 2013.
He was a Republican Party supporter. After losing an attempt to unseat Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill in the 2012 election, Akin’s Congressional career came to an end.
Former Congressman Todd Akin who remarks about ‘legitimate r*pe’, died 74
Former congressman Todd Akin (R-Mo.), who famously lost a 2012 Senate bid after he expressed controversial views about abortion in cases of “legitimate r*pe,” died late Sunday, the Associated Press reported, citing a statement from Akin’s son Perry. He was 74.
The cause of death was not immediately available but his son said that he had suffered from cancer for years.
“He was a devout Christian, a great father, and a friend to many,” Perry Akin told the AP. “We cherish many fond memories from him driving the tractor at our annual hayride, to his riveting delivery of the freedom story at 4th of July parties dressed in the full uniform of a colonial minuteman. The family is thankful for his legacy: a man with a servant’s heart who stood for truth.”
As a politician, Mr. Akin was prone to making controversial comments. He was best known for an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate in 2012, during which he sparked a national backlash for a statement about abortion that derailed his campaign.
When asked by St. Louis television station KTVI to explain his no-exceptions policy on abortions, Mr. Akin first said that pregnancies arising from r*pe are “really rare,” and added, “if it’s a legitimate r*pe, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
Mr. Akin first backtracked and later apologized for his comment in a television ad that framed his comment as a slip of the tongue.
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But in 2014, he walked back his apology in his book, “Firing Back: Taking on the Party Bosses and Media Elite to Protect Our Faith and Freedom.”
“By asking the public at large for forgiveness,” Mr. Akin wrote, “I was validating the willful misinterpretation of what I had said.”
Mr. Akin refused to bow out of the race and eventually lost to incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill, who went on to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate until 2018, when she lost her reelection bid to Josh Hawley (R), the state’s attorney general.
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William Todd Akin was born in New York City in 1947 but grew up in St. Louis. He attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts and served as an Army Combat Engineer from 1971 to 1980. After a few years in the private sector, Akin was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1988, where he served until after he was elected to Congress in 2000.
He served on the board of the Mission Gate Prison Ministry and was involved with the Boy Scouts of America and the antiabortion group Missouri Right to Life.
Todd Akin Age, Where is he from? Early Life
Todd Akin was 74 years old at the time of his demise. Todd was born on the 5th of July 1947 in the heart of New York City, USA.
The politician died on the 4th of October at his home between his family and close friends in Wildwood, Missouri. Nancy Perry (née Bigelow) and Paul Bigelow Akin were Akin’s parents. Thomas Russell Akin, Akin’s great-grandfather, founded Laclede Steel Corporation of St. Louis in 1911.
Todd Akin Net worth, How much did he earn?
Todd Akin was not only a politician but was also an industrialist with a huge net worth. He is expected to have an estimated $600k in his account while way back in 2012.
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But at the end of his days, he was a millionaire. But being a politician means having secret properties, and that too no one could know. So for now, he is believed to be a millionaire, but with no exact net worth.
Todd Akin’s Wife, His Relationship, What about Children?
Todd Akin was married to his wife Lulli Akin for all of his lifetime. The couple has been married for more than 4 decades, and now after the death of Todd, Lulli seems to be alone.
But Lulli is accompanied by her 6 children, the couple had together throughout their lifetime. Lulli contemplated joining the Peace Corps, working for the CIA, or working as a staffer for extreme leftist Ralph Nader after graduation.
Then she met Akin, whom she married in 1975 and who saved her from “such a radical future.” Instead, she became an evangelical Christian, a homemaker, and a pioneer in education.
Todd Akin Career
Akin was a longtime anti-abortion activist, r*pe apologist, and former member of the board of Missouri Right to Life. He was arrested for trespass at least eight times between 1985 and 1988 while demonstrating against abortion in front of abortion clinics in Illinois and Missouri. He has said the protests were peaceful and he would not apologize for standing up for his beliefs. At the time of the arrests, he was using the name “William Akin”; after that period, when he ran for political office, it was as “Todd Akin”.
Akin was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in November 1988, running unopposed to represent District 85 in West County. He won re-election in 1990 with 59% of the vote. Due to re-districting, Akin represented District 86 from 1993 through 2000, never winning less than 66% of the vote.
Akin served as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. During his 12 years in the statehouse, Akin advocated for homeschool rights, voted for carrying concealed weapons, voted against the parks and soils sales tax, and voted against the 1993 tax increase and education spending increase. Akin sponsored legislation to prohibit casino companies from contributing to Missouri state lawmakers. In 1995, he fought Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan over a bill providing state funding for school nurses. Ultimately, the governor refused to sign the funding bill due to Akin’s amendment, which would have prohibited nurses from telling students about sources for information about abortion.
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In 2000, Akin ran in the Republican primary election to fill the House seat vacated by U.S. Representative Jim Talent, who was running for governor. Light voter turnout caused by heavy rains helped Akin win the tight, five-way primary by just 56 votes; he defeated two better-known candidates, former St. Louis County Executive Gene McNary and State Senator Franc Flotron.
On the night he won the primary, Akin said, “My base will show up in earthquakes.” He defeated Democratic State Senator Ted House in the general election, winning 55 percent of the vote. He never faced another contest as close and was re-elected five times. In 2010, Akin won re-election with 67.9% of the vote. He had been challenged for the seat by Democratic nominee Arthur Lieber, Libertarian nominee Steve Mosbacher, and write-in candidate Patrick M. Cannon.
Where he attended his High school and University? What was his major?
Akin graduated from John Burroughs School, a private prep school in suburban St. Louis, and went on to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, earning a B.S. in Management Engineering in 1970.
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After graduation, Akin served as an engineer officer in the National Guard of the U.S. Army, then served in the Army Reserve until 1980. After leaving active duty, Akin sold large computer systems for IBM, then worked as a manager in his family’s steel business.
Akin earned a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in 1984 from Covenant Theological Seminary where he studied Greek, Hebrew, and a socially conservative interpretation of the Christian scriptures. He did not enter the ministry.
Todd Akin Social Media Reach
He also had 4K followers on Twitter with the username “@ToddAkin.”
