Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill's re-election campaign released a new ad Monday using video of opponent Rep. Todd Akin's controversial comments on rape.

The Republican congressman used the term "legitimate rape" in a Missouri television interview in August to describe what he explained was the process a woman's body goes through to shut down pregnancies in such cases.

Akin quickly apologized but his comments stirred controversy on a national level. With the risk of foregoing a majority in the Senate, many within Akin's own party disavowed the embattled congressman and called on him to exit the race to no avail.

The McCaskill campaign ad brings the backlash of Akin's remarks to the local level, using clips of Missouri women expressing fear of Akin pushing his views through legislation.

The 30-second spot titled "Real Words -- Women" comes in a series of ads aimed at painting a picture of Akin as out of touch with Missouri voters.

The spot begins with a woman who says, "Todd Akin is scary."

"Todd's statement about 'legitimate rape' is beyond the pale," says another woman.

Then, the ad shows the now-infamous clip of Akin in the August interview.

"If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," said the Republican Senate hopeful.

The ad continues with a series of women saying: "He has no idea how it even works and he wants to legislate about it; I worry about the misinformation he evidently believes; I'm afraid of what he'll do in Congress; All women in Missouri need to think what happens to their rights."

McCaskill's campaign has used Akin's comments in previous ads.

Eight days out from Election Day, McCaskill and Akin are locked in a heated battle for a Senate seat. Prior to Akin's comments and the firestorm of criticism that ensued, the Missouri race was thought to be a likely take-back for the GOP. Now, the race is in a dead heat.

A Mason-Dixon poll commissioned by Missouri news outlets, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and released Saturday, shows McCaskill with 45% support among likely Missouri voters and Akin with 43%. McCaskill's advantage is well within the survey's sampling error of four percentage points, rendering the race statistically tied.

The poll, conducted from October 23-25, also showed Akin's controversial remark had a significant impact on the race; three-quarters of those supporting McCaskill said in the survey that Akin's "legitimate rape" comment was "somewhat" or "very" important for their decision.

Akin senior adviser Rick Tyler said in response to the spot that in spite of the McCaskill campaign's television ad buys, the race remains in a dead heat because of Akin's grassroots campaign efforts.

"Despite Claire McCaskill's spending $7 million in the last quarter, a Missouri record, to Akin's $1 million, no amount of money can cover over her liberal voting record and her corruption. No amount of distraction will convince Missouri voters to return her to the Senate," said Tyler.