He still has until 5:00 today.

Via Roll Call:

Rep. Todd Akin said he is staying in the Missouri Senate race despite the national firestorm sparked by his controversial comments about rape and increased calls from the Republican Party establishment for him to step aside.

“We are going to continue with this race,” the GOP Congressman told former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in a radio interview this afternoon.

Akin’s decision comes as Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt issued a joint statement with former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and former Sens. Kit Bond, John Danforth and Jim Talent — all Republicans from Missouri — calling on Akin to drop out of the race.

The move from the Show Me State’s most powerful Republicans comes just hours before a 5 p.m. deadline for Akin to step aside after claiming on local television that “legitimate rape” rarely leads to pregnancy.

“We do not believe it serves the national interest for Congressman Todd Akin to stay in this race. The issues at stake are too big, and this election is simply too important. The right decision is to step aside,” the prominent Missourians said in a statement.