Capitol Calling

The Hill reports that U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, R-Town and County, is not ruling out a run next year against U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri.

From the article:

Reps. Sam Graves (R) and Jo Ann Emerson (R) have both passed on challenging Sen. Claire McCaskill (D). But six-term Rep. Todd Akin (R) won’t “discount” making a run.

Republicans have been watching with some trepidation as several well-known candidates flirted with nomination bids. A contentious primary could benefit McCaskill, who admits she is the “underdog” in her reelection contest. The GOP field so far only includes attorney Ed Martin and former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman.

A new survey by Public Policy Polling shows Akin essentially tied with McCaskill, while the Democrat leads Steelman 45-42 and tops Martin, a former congressional candidate, 46-40. In a possible match up with former ambassador Ann Wagner (R), McCaskill would win 45-36, according to the survey of 612 Missouri voters. The March 2-6 poll’s margin-of-error was plus-or-minus 4 percent.

Akin told me on Saturday that he wouldn’t rule out a run against McCaskill. GOP senate candidate Ed Martin said in my St. Louis Beacon article that Akin - who won a tough primary to get into national politics - would the primary “very competitive.”