U.S. Rep. Todd Akin has won the GOP Senate nomination in Missouri.

With more than 70 percent of the vote counted at 10:10 p.m., the St. Louis-area congressman was leading St. Louis businessman John Brunner and former state treasurer Sarah Steelman by a sizable margin.

Akin will face Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill in the fall.

Akin had 135,392 votes to Steelman's 125,107 and Brunner's 113,842.

The congressman was the only federal office holder in the race and was widely believed to be the candidate McCaskill would most want to face in November.

Akin is a staunch conservative who often invokes the name of God in his stump speeches.