Rep. Todd Akin

A poll conducted and released on Monday found that U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, who's under fire for his comments about "legitimate rape," still has an edge over Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill in Missouri's Senate race.

Public Policy Polling, a North Carolina-based Democratic polling firm, has Akin leading McCaskill by one point, 44 percent to 43 percent.  That's not much different from PPP's last poll of the race, which also found Akin ahead by one point, 45 percent to 44 percent, reports The Ticket.

But Akin's sustained lead doesn't mean Missouri voters agree with what the Republican candidate said. The poll found that 75 percent say Akin's comments were inappropriate, and 79 percent say they disagree with them.

In releasing the results, PPP concluded that "GOP voters dislike McCaskill so much they're not going to vote for her no matter what their nominee does."

"This looks like it will be a closely contested race if Akin stays in," PPP President Dean Debnam said in a statement that came with the poll results.

Akin apologized for his comments on Monday but vowed to stay in the race in the face of criticism from his own party and some calls for him to quit, saying on Mike Huckabee's radio show "I'm not a quitter" and taking to Twitter to say that he's "in this race to win."