Washington, Oct. 25 (ANI): GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock may have given Democrats the last-minute, swing-state lift they needed after his stunning comments that pregnancies stemming from rape, however horrible, are 'something that God intended to happen'.
Mourdock tried to soften his comments on Wednesday, saying that he did not mean God intends for women to be violated, only that every life was a divine gift.
Nevertheless, the repercussions from his words quickly spread across the Hoosier State and the country, as both the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee seized on the remarks.
Nearly every Republican in a close Senate race denounced Mourdock's comments.
According to the Huffington Post, Massachusetts' Scott Brown was first, followed soon by Connecticut's Linda McMahon, who said in a statement: "Richard Mourdock's comments were highly inappropriate and offensive. They do not reflect my beliefs as a woman or a pro-choice candidate."
Even anti-abortion candidates sought distance from the intemperate Mourdock, the report said.
"Jeff Flake's pro-life position has always included exceptions for rape, incest, and to protect the life of the mother, so he does not agree with some of the comments made by other candidates on this issue," Andrew Wilder, a spokesman for the Arizona congressman, said.
One Senate candidate who agrees with Mourdock's opposition to abortion, Pennsylvania challenger Tom Smith, found the comments out of bounds. "Tom Smith condemns those remarks," said spokesman Jim Conroy.
For Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the timing of Mourdock's surprise couldn't be worse, the report said.
The remarks came just a day after a Mourdock ad featuring Romney-the only one he has cut for a Senate candidate this election-began airing on TV.
Romney quickly moved to distance himself, although his campaign did not withdraw the endorsement and said it has not requested that the ad be taken off the air.
"It's Todd Akin all over again. The difference is, it's toward the end of the political campaign, which means it does get more attention, but it could also be drowned in a sea of political news," said the University of Virginia's Larry Sabato, who added that he wants to see how long the national focus stays on Mourdock.
But Sabato also noted that the remarks play perfectly into the sorts of ads that Democrats in the same close races have been running, such as the deadlocked Virginia contest between Allen and Democrat Tim Kaine.
"A lot of the Democrats have aired one or more ads about contraception, abortion, Todd Akin, you name it, it's been in there," Sabato said. (ANI)