Sarah Palin asks for Akin to exit, suggests Sarah Steelman run as third party

Former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palinsays U.S. Rep. Todd Akin should "take one for the team" and exit Missouri's U.S. Senate Race.

Palin, who endorsed former Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman in the GOP primary, continued to advocate for Steelman on Tuesday night in an interview on Fox News with Greta Van Susteren, even saying she should consider a third party run.

"Well, I won't gloat about it, but I was right," Palin said. "And Sarah Steelman's supporters and campaign staff, we were all right in knowing that Sarah Steelman is the right person for the job to represent Missouri and to allow common-sense conservatives to take back the Senate to halt what it is that Barack Obama has done to this country."

Akin has said he won't leave the race.

"Sarah Steelman was the right person. I supported her then, and I'm going to continue to support her," Palin said.

Palin went on to suggest Steelman run as a third party candidate:

"Again, without trying to pile on Todd Akin and what he's going through right now, maybe it is a third-party run of Sarah Steelman that I can get behind, and, granted the status quo has got to go would be an odd name for a third party, but we'll coin it, adopt it, run with it if that's what it takes in order to get a commonsense constitutional, happens to be pro-life woman in Missouri to clean up this mess that's been created and at the same time take back the Senate, which means we get to take back the country and put government back on the side of the people."