Todd Akin Backers Attack Claire McCaskill With 'Legitimate' Phrase

Akin Backers Attack Claire McCaskill With 'Legitimate' Phrase
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Republican Rep. Todd Akin and Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill shake hands after the end of the second debate in the Missouri Senate race Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, in Clayton, Mo. (AP Photo/Emily Rasinski)

One of the few outside groups still spending money on Rep. Todd Akin's (R-Mo.) Senate campaign may be doing more harm than good with its latest effort, a spot that uses the phrase "legitimate" over and over to attack Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).

Akin infamously suggested over the summer that women couldn't get pregnant from "legitimate rape," prompting nearly the entire mainstream GOP to abandon him as his poll numbers plummeted.

He's been trying to get past those remarks ever since, but now a conservative group is bringing the phrase back in a 30-second ad, accusing McCaskill of being a "legitimate" liberal, a "legitimate foot soldier" for President Barack Obama and other "legitimate" things.

The group, called Freedom's Defense Fund, put about $80,000 behind the ad, according to federal election campaign filings. It is slated to run on cable television. A spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment on why the group thinks it's a good idea to remind voters of the "legitimate rape" remarks.

Democrats have been trying to keep those comments in the forefront of voters' minds, recently sending flyers to people's homes.

WATCH the spot here:

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