JEFFERSON CITY  — The U.S. congressman under fire for making comments about "legitimate rape" and pregnancy said Wednesday that Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney's running mate personally pleaded with him to leave a crucial Senate race, but the advice went nowhere. Rep. Todd Akin insisted he's in the race to stay, saying "this is not about my ego."

Romney himself has called on his fellow Republican to abandon his Senate bid in the Midwestern state of Missouri amid the party's concerns that Akin's comments have threatened the party's bid to gain control of Congress in November.

Akin told ABC's "Good Morning America" that Romney's running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, called him to personally plea that he step aside, but Akin said "it's not right for party bosses to override" Missouri voters, who knew they weren't getting a "perfect' candidate.

Akin has repeatedly apologized for his comments in a television interview earlier this week that women's bodies can prevent pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape." He had been asked in the KTVI interview whether his general opposition to abortion extends to women who have been raped.

"It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," Akin said.

Despite the uproar that followed, Akin ignored a key deadline to drop out of the Senate race Tuesday and declared that his party's leaders were overreacting by abandoning him.

He was once seen as a strong challenger to incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill in Missouri, a pivotal target for Republicans as they attempt win control of the Senate. Republicans already control the House of Representatives.

Akin's bid now faces a lack of money from the national Republican Party, a lack of party support and no assurance that his apologies would be enough to heal a self-inflicted political wound. But he remained defiant.

He appealed Tuesday to Christian evangelicals, anti-abortion activists and anti-establishment Republicans, saying he remains the best messenger to highlight respect for life and liberty that he contends are crumbling under the big-government policies of President Barack Obama.

Some have rallied to his side. Akin's campaign released an open letter Tuesday from Jack Willke, former president of the U.S. National Right to Life Committee, stating he was "outraged at how quickly Republican leaders have deserted" Akin.

Akin "remains a strong and courageous pro-life leader — and awkward wording in one sound bite doesn't negate that," Willke's statement said.

If Akin were to leave, state law gives the Republican state committee two weeks to name a replacement. Akin can withdraw from the race as late as Sept. 25, but after Tuesday, he would need a court order to do so.

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