Todd Akin

W. Todd Akin

Republican Party

Prior offices

Missouri House of Representatives District 85

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Missouri House of Representatives District 86

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U.S. House Missouri District 2

Successor: Ann Wagner

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Education

Bachelor's

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Graduate

Covenant Theological Seminary

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

1972 - 1980

Personal

Religion

Christian: Presbyterian

Profession

Engineer, plant manager

Contact

Personal website

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William Todd Akin (July 5, 1947 - October 3, 2021) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri. Akin served Missouri's 2nd Congressional District from 2001 to 2013.

Akin briefly considered a potential primary challenge to Sen. Roy Blunt in 2016. However, he ultimately decided against challenging Blunt.

In 2012, Akin ran for U.S. Senate. He won the Republican nomination in the primary, but lost in the general election.

Akin died on October 3, 2021.

Biography

Akin was born in New York City. He attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts where he earned a degree in management engineering. In 1984 he earned a Master of Divinity degree at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis.

Career

From 1972 to 1980, Akin served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Belvoir in Alexandria, Virginia. After his military career, he took up work at IBM as an engineer and later became a manager at Laclede Steel Company.

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2011-2012

Akin served on the following committees:

• Armed Services Committee
  • Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces (Chairman)
• House Budget Committee
• House Science Committee

Issues

Earmarks

A Washington Post investigation in February 2012 revealed that 33 members of Congress helped direct more than $300 million in earmarks to public projects in close proximity to commercial and residential real estate owned by the lawmakers or their family members. According to the report, Tierney has helped direct about $3.5 million toward a 950-space parking garage and commuter rail station in Salem, Mass. The facility will be located roughly 1/4 mile from a commercial building Tierney co-owns.

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Akin voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.

Elections

2016

See also: United States Senate election in Missouri, 2016

Akin considered a potential primary challenge to Sen. Roy Blunt in 2016. However, he ultimately decided against challenging Blunt.

2012

See also: United States Senate elections in Missouri, 2012

Akin sought election to the U.S. Senate. He defeated John Brunner, Sarah Steelman, Mark Lodes, Jerry Beck, Mark Memoly, Robert Poole, and Hector Maldonado in the August 7, 2012, Republican primary. In the November 6, 2012, general election, he faced incumbent Claire McCaskill and Libertarian Party candidate Jonathan Dine. McCaskill won.

An October 2012 article in The Daily named Akin one of the 20 worst candidates in 2012.

The University of Virginia's Center for Politics published an article called Sabato's Crystal Ball on March 22, 2012, detailing the eight races in the Senate in 2012 that will decide the political fate of which party will end up with control in 2013. The seat, rated a toss-up, was one that the Sabato's Crystal Ball believed was 3rd most likely to end up Republican. The article notes incumbent freshman senator Claire McCaskill (D) is vulnerable in the Republican leaning state.

U.S. Senate, Missouri, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Claire McCaskill Incumbent	54.8%	1,494,125
	Republican	Todd Akin	39.1%	1,066,159
	Libertarian	Jonathan Dine	6.1%	165,468
	Write-in	Ted Kimzey	0%	15
	Write-in	Bernard J. "Spark" Duraski, Jr.	0%	9
	Write-in	William Dean	0%	6
	Write-in	Bernie Mowinksi	0%	5
	Write-in	Charlie L. Bailey	0%	4
	Write-in	Arnie C. "AC" Dienoff	0%	2
Total Votes				2,725,793
Source: Missouri Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Primary results

The primary took place on August 7, 2012.

US Senate - Missouri Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Todd Akin	36%	217,468
John G. Brunner	30%	180,821
Sarah Steelman	29.2%	176,189
Jerry Beck	1.6%	9,791
Hector Maldonado	1.2%	7,412
Robert (Bob) Poole	1%	6,097
Mark Memoly	0.5%	3,200
Mark Patrick Lodes	0.4%	2,282
Total Votes		603,260

2010

On November 2, 2010, Akin was re-elected to the United States House for a sixth term. He defeated Arthur Lieber (D), Steve Mosbacher (Libertarian), and Patrick M. Cannon (Write-in).

United States House, Missouri General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Todd Akin Incumbent	67.9%	180,481
	Democratic	Arthur Lieber	29.2%	77,467
	Libertarian	Steve Mosbacher	2.9%	7,677
	Write-in	Patrick M. Cannon	0%	7
Total Votes				265,632

Campaign themes

2012

On his campaign website, Akin lists seven issues. They are:

• Public Healthcare

• Akin says, "The American public has said loud and clear that they do not want a government takeover of health care. Let's repeal the current law and replace it with meaningful reforms that drive coverage costs down, keep decisions with patients and expand access to health insurance."

• Education

• Akin states, "We need to return local control to our schools. In 2001, I opposed my own party when I stood in opposition to President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act. [...] It is time to end Washington’s trend as “Federal Superintendent of Education” and give control and funding back to the States and local school boards. In short, reducing excessive federal regulations will make more dollars available our local schools, and allow those who actually interact with students to focus spending where it is most needed."

• Energy

• Akin says, "The regulations imposed on the energy industry has stifled investment and stalled our ability to keep up with the needs of our nation. As a result, we continue a growing dependence of foreign energy sources."

• Jobs

• Akin says, "We must also overhaul our system of taxation. I have long been a supporter of the Fair Tax. The Fair Tax expands the tax base and flattens the tax burden. The Fair Tax allows taxpayers to keep more of what they make and empowers the taxpayer to take a greater role in managing their tax burden."

• Values

• Akin discusses two issues on his campaign page.

• Abortion: "One of the beliefs on which I will never waiver is that life begins at conception. During my time in public office, I have remained steadfast in this belief. I have been a vocal supporter and sponsor of numerous pro-life legislative initiatives at both the state and federal level that protect the rights of the unborn."
• Gun Rights: "During my time in Congress, I have supported a number of measures that seek to protect an individual’s constitutional right to bear arms, and to rein in heavy handed attempts by our government to infringe upon that right."

• Spending

• Akin says, "If government spending was truly the answer to our problems, we should now have a booming economy. Despite the Obama spending spree, reported unemployment lingers around 9%, and real unemployment hangs closer to 20%. Spending only makes our economic woes worse. The only way to get out of a hole is to stop digging. We owe our children and grandchildren better than to burden them with debt tomorrow for our “wants” today. It’s well past time to cut the federal credit card."

• Veterans and Defense

• Akin says, "I believe that providing for the national defense is a charge given to Congress explicitly in the United States Constitution and I will continue to be a strong advocate for the men and women in uniform that pledge all in defending our freedom."

Polls

2012

Todd Akin vs. Claire McCaskill
Poll	Todd Akin	Claire McCaskill	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Public Policy Polling (May 24-May 27, 2012)	45%	44%	+/-4	602
Post-Dispatch/Mason-Dixon (July 23-July 25, 2012)	49%	44%	+/-5	625
Rasmussen Reports (July 30, 2012)	47%	44%	+/-4.5	500
Survey USA (August 9-August 12, 2012)	51%	40%	+/-4.1	585
Rasmussen Reports (August 23, 2012)	38%	48%	+/-4.5	500
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]

Campaign finance summary

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Analysis

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Akin paid his congressional staff a total of $927,567 in 2011. Overall, Missouri ranked 21st in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.

Staff bonuses

According to an analysis by CNN, Akin was one of nearly 25 percent of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Akin's staff was given an apparent $3,406.85 in bonus money.

Net worth

See also: Changes in Net Worth of U.S. Senators and Representatives (Personal Gain Index) and Net worth of United States Senators and Representatives

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Akin's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $31,017 to $290,000. This averages out to a net worth of $160,508.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Republicans in 2010 of $7,561,133.

Political Analysis

National Journal vote ratings

Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members, in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.

2012

According to the data released in 2013, Akin ranked in the conservative rankings in 2012.

2011

According to the data released in 2012, Todd Akin ranked 116th in the conservative rankings in 2011.

Voting with party

November 2011

Todd Akin voted with the Republican Party 95.4 percent of the time, which ranked 18th among the 242 House Republican members as of November 2011.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.

External links

• Official Campaign Website

• Social media:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
• Biographies:
  • U.S. Congress
  • Wikipedia
• Political profiles:
  • GovTrack
  • OpenCongress
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Roll Call
• Financial (federal level):
  • FEC contributions
  • OpenSecrets.org
  • LegiStorm.com
• Interest group ratings:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions:
  • On The Issues
  • Project Vote Smart
• Public statements:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Voting record:
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Washington Post
• Media appearances:
  • C-SPAN
  • IMDb
• Media coverage:
  • New York Times
  • Washington Post

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Jim Talent	U.S. House of Representatives - Missouri District 2 2001-2013	Succeeded by Ann Wagner
Preceded by John Hancock	Missouri House of Representatives - District 86 1993–2001	Succeeded by Jane Cunningham
Preceded by Franc Flotron	Missouri House of Representatives - District 85 1989–1993	Succeeded by Chris Liese

[show]

Missouri's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Josh Hawley (R)

Eric Schmitt (R)

Representatives

District 1

Wesley Bell (D)

District 2

Ann Wagner (R)

District 3

Bob Onder (R)

District 4

Mark Alford (R)

District 5

Emanuel Cleaver (D)

District 6

Sam Graves (R)

District 7

Eric Burlison (R)

District 8

Jason Smith (R)

Republican Party (8)

Democratic Party (2)