Image Credti: Orlin Wagner/AP Photo

Now that Todd Akin is officially on the ballot as a Senate candidate in Missouri, he's picked up two prominent endorsers.

Former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum and prominent conservative Sen. Jim DeMint offered their backing Wednesday morning in an e-mail to supporters of Santorum's group Patriot Voices.

The two issued a joint statement:

"If Republicans are to win back the Senate and stop President Obama's liberal agenda, we must defeat Senator Claire McCaskill in Missouri. Her support of President Obama's job-killing, big-spending policies are sending our country into an economic abyss. And her passionate support of ObamaCare is ensuring healthcare costs go up while quality of care goes down. Simply put, we cannot afford six more years of Senator McCaskill.

"Todd Akin is a principled conservative who is committed to winning and fighting for freedom in the U.S. Senate. Todd will work to stop reckless spending, stop the out of control debt, repeal the government takeover of healthcare, support our military and defend life at every stage.

"We support Todd Akin and hope freedom-loving Americans in Missouri and around the country will join us so we can save our country from fiscal collapse," concluded Santorum and DeMint."

Akin thanked the two senators in a statement released by his campaign.

"I am proud to have two of our country's leading conservatives endorse me today," Akin said. "Rick Santorum and Jim DeMint know that Claire McCaskill has voted with President Obama 98% of the time, she was the deciding vote for Obamacare and has voted to increase our national debt by $6.9 trillion. Our country can't afford another six years of the liberal agenda of Claire McCaskill."

Akin has resisted intense pressure to drop out from his Missouri's Senate race against Sen. Claire McCaskill, since making his now-infamous "legitimate rape" comment in August. Republican leaders including Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn called on him to withdraw or reconsider his bid.

As expected, Tuesday's 5 p.m. CT deadline expired as Akin remained in the race.

DeMint's PAC, the Senate Conservatives Fund, is considering whether to endorse Akin and spend money in Missouri on his behalf. On Tuesday, it e-mailed its supporters asking for input. The group has not yet made a decision.

McCaskill, meanwhile, debuted two new TV ads this week, one of which mentions Akin's "rape" comment. The ads began airing statewide Monday, according to McCaskill's campaign.