Despite the firestorm over his comments about rape and pregnancy, Representative Todd Akin says he has no plans to drop out as the Republican Senate nominee in Missouri.
But what if he did?
The procedures in Missouri to change nominees midstream are complicated and intended to discourage just the sort of change that many in the Republican Party say they are eager to see happen.
“As more time passes, you're starting to go up against deadlines,†said Stacie Temple, a spokeswoman for Missouri's secretary of state, Robin Carnahan, a Democrat. Ms. Temple said the longer Mr. Akin waited, the more difficult it would get.
The first deadline for Mr. Akin t o have easily withdrawn from the race was Tuesday evening. His decision to stay in the race means that he now has only a few weeks to reconsider before things get even harder.
Certification of the presidential ballots in Missouri will be no later than Sept. 17, and could be shortly after President Obama officially accepts the Democratic nomination on Sept. 5.
Once the ballots are printed, any candidate who seeks to withdraw must pay for the reprinting of new ballots. That could be prohibitively expensive for Mr. Akin, but presumably the Republican Party - which badly wants him to withdraw - would cover the cost.
Military overseas ballots begin shipping out Sept. 22. That might be the first firm deadline. But the drop-dead deadline is Sept 25, when general absentee ballots are sent out.
Mel Carnahan, the former Missouri governor and Ms. Carnahan's father, died on Oct. 16, 2000, during his campaign for the Senate against the Republican incumbent, John Ashcroft. Mr. Carnahan's name nonetheless appeared on the ballot in November - and he won. (His widow, Jean, was appointed to the seat, and lost it in special election in 2002.)
Assuming that Mr. Akin bows to pressure from Republican leaders (or simply concludes that he isn't able to raise enough money to mount a credible campaign), Missouri law requires that he seek a court order allowing him to drop out of the race.
State officials say that issuing such court orders is routine. Mr. Akin would merely have to file the necessary papers with the court and his name would no longer be printed on the November ballot. Republicans could then quickly nominate someone else to run against Senator Claire McCaskill, the Democratic incumbent.
Democrats would no doubt like to see Mr. Akin - now politically weakened by his comments on rape and pregnancy - stay in the race. In theory, the Democratic officials who run the state's election offices could object to Mr. Akin's request for a court order, a move that would force a hearing before a judge.
The relevant statute says someone like Mr. Akin can withdraw “pursuant to a court order, which, except for good cause shown by the election authority in opposition thereto, shall be freely given upon application by the candidate to the circuit court in the county of such candidate's residence.â€
Election officials say they can find no precedent at all for such an objection in the state's history. But Ms. Carnahan is herself a factor in Republican minds. As the Democratic Senate nominee in 2010, she lost to Representative Roy Blunt, and Republicans imagine she could put up a fight.
“The secretary's job is to protect the rights of Missouri voters,†Ms. Temple said when asked whether Ms. Carnahan would fight a court order to remove Mr. Akin's name from the ballot.
A further complication: Under state law, any election authority in Missouri can oppose a withdrawal order, do wn to the county and city level, and there are Democrats aplenty in Missouri. But Ms. Temple added that right now, it would be up to a Missouri court to determine whether Mr. Akin could withdraw, not the secretary of state.
“It's completely in the hands of the court to decide the facts,†she said.
Assuming Mr. Akin does manage to drop out, the state central committee of the Republican Party in Missouri would have to pick a new candidate within 28 days, or by Oct. 12, whichever comes first.
