WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican congressman Todd Akin, under fire for controversial remarks on abortion and rape, said on Tuesday he was not dropping out of the Missouri Senate race.

Despite calls from throughout the Republican Party for him to step out of his race against Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, Akin vowed to stay in the race, indicating he represents a conservative movement that must be heard.

"We are going to continue in this race for U.S. Senate," Akin told The Mike Huckabee Show, a radio program hosted by the former Arkansas governor, an Akin supporter and favorite of religious conservatives.

(Reporting By Patricia Zengerle, Editing by Alistair Bell and Will Dunham)