Republican voters could sit out the Missouri Senate race

So far, we’ve had two polls of the Missouri Senate race since Representative Todd Akin made his remarks about rape on Sunday. The first survey, conducted by Public Policy Polling on Monday night, had Mr. Akin holding onto a one-point advantage in the race. But a second poll, conducted Wednesday night by Rasmussen Reports, had his opponent, the Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill, up by 10 percentage points instead. …

There was one element, however, that the polls had in common. Both showed a large number of Republicans who were not willing to declare their support for either Mr. Akin or Ms. McCaskill. …

The most optimistic interpretation for Republicans is that some of these voters will grudgingly vote for Mr. Akin in the end. Perhaps, even, the high number of undecided Republicans reflects social desirability bias. (Some of these Republicans are prepared to cast a ballot for Mr. Akin, but they’re not willing to tell a pollster that when it might be politically incorrect to do so.)