Aide: McCain stands by Mourdock

Sen. John McCain said through an aide that he stands by Richard Mourdock for the Indiana Senate.

In a CNN interview on Wednesday, the Arizona senator said he would not continue to support Mourdock unless he apologized for saying that when a woman becomes pregnant from rape, "it is something that God intended."

Mourdock's comments sparked an uproar from Democrats, and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney disavowed the remarks.

McCain's communication director Brian Rogers issued a statement Thursday saying McCain was traveling and did not see Mourdock's full news conference before taping the interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. "Senator McCain is glad that Mr. Mourdock apologized to the people of Indiana and clarified his previous statement," Rogers said. "Senator McCain hopes the people of Indiana will elect Mr. Mourdock to the U.S. Senate."

Mourdock apologized Wednesday for how his words were construed, saying he was "inarticulate" and people "mistook, twisted, came to misunderstand" that he believes life comes from God.

McCain praised Mourdock as a "fiscal conservative" who is "very qualified to hit the country running" at a campaign event last week, according to the Indianapolis Star. That endorsement was a big deal because McCain backed veteran Sen. Richard Lugar over Mourdock in Indiana's hotly contested GOP primary this year.

Matt Canter, communication director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Republicans should denounce Mourdock. "Richard Mourdock refuses to apologize for his heinous views on rape," Canter said in an e-mail. "Republicans across the country have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for their campaign coffers through joint committees with Mourdock. They should immediately condemn his offensive views and donate that money to charity."