William Todd Akin was an American politician who served as the US representative for from 2001 to 2013.
37 Facts About Todd Akin
2.
Todd Akin served in the state house until 2000, when he was elected to the US House of Representatives, in which he served until 2013.
3.
Todd Akin eventually apologized for the remark but rebuffed calls to withdraw from the election.
4.
Todd Akin lost to McCaskill, 54.7 percent to 39.2 percent.
5.
Todd Akin was born in New York City, and raised in the St Louis area.
6.
Todd Akin was the son of Nancy Perry and Paul Bigelow Akin.
7.
Todd Akin eventually passed to his grandfather, William Akin, and then to his father Paul, a third-generation graduate of Harvard University who served as an officer in the Navy during World War II.
8.
Todd Akin graduated from John Burroughs School, a private prep school in suburban St Louis, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, earning a Bachelor of Science in Management Engineering in 1970.
9.
Todd Akin was a longtime anti-abortion activist and a onetime member of the board of Missouri Right to Life.
10.
Todd Akin 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.
11.
Todd Akin said the protests were peaceful and he would not apologize for standing up for his beliefs.
12.
Todd Akin was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in November 1988, running unopposed to represent District 85 in West County.
13.
Todd Akin served as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
14.
Todd Akin sponsored legislation to prohibit casino companies from contributing to Missouri state lawmakers.
15.
In 2000, Todd Akin ran in the Republican primary election to fill the House seat vacated by US Representative Jim Talent, who was running for governor.
16.
Todd Akin never faced another contest as close, and was reelected five times.
17.
For most of his tenure, Todd Akin was listed in the official House roll as "R-St Louis," even though his district didn't include any portion of the city of St Louis.
18.
Todd Akin was a supporter of the right to keep and bear arms and had an A rating from the National Rifle Association.
19.
Todd Akin was a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker.
20.
In late June 2011, Todd Akin objected to NBC's recent removal of the words "under God" from a video clip of school children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
21.
Todd Akin believed that it should not be the federal government that decides on education, but that local government should have control over public education.
22.
Todd Akin voted in 2007 against an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, objecting to its potential coverage of children in families making up to $62,000 a year, and stating that proof of US citizenship was not required.
23.
Todd Akin was a vocal critic of the September 2008 bank bailout, and voted against it.
24.
Todd Akin voted no on the Affordable Health Care Act in March 2010, and on Paul Ryan's fiscal year 2012 budget.
25.
Todd Akin served as the Ranking Republican on the Seapower Subcommittee and the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
26.
Todd Akin introduced veterans-related bills, most notably the Open Burn Pit Registry Act, which creates a registry for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who were exposed to burn pits.
27.
Todd Akin opposed repeal of the Dover Policy, which banned media coverage of caskets of troops returning home from overseas, citing privacy and decorum issues.
28.
In mid-May 2011, Todd Akin announced he would seek the Republican nomination in 2012 to unseat Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill.
29.
For most of his political career, Todd Akin had claimed Town and Country as his official residence.
30.
However, according to the Associated Press and the St Louis Post-Dispatch, Todd Akin moved to Wildwood, in far western St Louis County, sometime between 2007 and 2009, after he and his wife purchased a second home there.
31.
The comments from Todd Akin, which came as he ran for the US Senate seat held by Claire McCaskill, almost immediately led to widespread uproar.
32.
Todd Akin was not the first to make such claims, but was perhaps one of the most prominent until then.
33.
Todd Akin's loss was attributed to backlash from women voters.
34.
In July 2014, Todd Akin's book, Firing Back: Taking on the Party Bosses and Media Elite to Protect Our Faith and Freedom, was published by WND Books.
35.
Todd Akin married Lulli Boe, a graduate of Hollins University, in June 1975.
36.
When his father sought to subdivide the 8.5-acre property in the late 2000s, Todd Akin moved to a house in Wildwood.
37.
Todd Akin died from cancer at his home on October 3,2021, at age 74.