ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Republican U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin is back on the campaign trail in Missouri.

One week after apologizing to the nation over remarks he made about sexual assault and abortion, Akin appeared on KMOX’s Charlie Brennan Show,”I want to talk to people who are just plain Americans. People who love this country, who love freedom, and recognize the federal government is out of control. They want to see the common sense we grew up with in Missouri not be destroyed.”

• Listen to Todd Akin’s full interview below:

Akin reiterated that he will not bow out of the race, as some higher-ups in the GOP including, Mitt Romney and RNC chair Reince Priebus have asked him to do.

Akin said he wants to continue with his message of freedom. Host Charlie Brennan asked Akin how he can push for freedom, when he’s against the freedom of women to take Plan-B contraception after unwanted sex.

Akin answered, “A rape is a terrible and horrible tragedy. I understand that. And I understand the consequences are long-term. At the same time, I don’t know that you fix one tragedy with another tragedy.”

As for rejecting calls to bow out of the race,  Akin said Republican voters in Missouri had 15 months to get to know the candidates and to make a decision on a nominee for the November election, “Do we really want to step into the area where somebody is elected by the citizens of this state, and their party bosses decide to replace them? I just think that is not the right precedent.

Akin faces Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill in November. Charlie Brennan said he welcomes the incumbent to come in for an interview on his show, and even suggested that Akin and McCaskill should hold a debate on the KMOX airwaves.

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