Todd Akin in Tampa with top social conservatives

A person attending the CNP gathering in Tampa confirmed that Akin was there Wednesday evening, after several sources close to Akin in Missouri said the embattled GOP Senate candidate would be attending. It was unclear if he had been invited prior to his "legtimate rape” remarks Sunday.

Akin’s representatives did not respond to a request for comment. The six - term congressman has said that he will not attend the Republican National Convention in Tampa next week.

Akin’s whereabouts have been a topic of keen interest. He was spotted Tuesday night returning home from a Missouri airport after a trip to Ohio to meet a campaign strategist and cut an ad apologizing for his comments.

While national Republicans from presidential candidate Mitt Romney to National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn have called for Akin to end his Senate bid, Akin has remained defiant and pledged to stay in the race. He has, however, received support from several prominent conservatives including Tim Wildmon and Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

“Akin’s words, for which he apologized even though he had no need to, were right. He was entirely correct to say that pregnancies in cases of forcible rape are rare, ” Fischer wrote in an AFA blog post.

The New York Times reported in ۲۰۰۴ that CNP meetings are highly secretive and its membership list is “strictly confidential. ”

The group describes its mission on its website as bringing “together the country’s most influential conservative leaders in business, government, politics, religion, and academia to hear and learn from policy experts on a wide range of issues. In addition, we provide a forum that allows an open exchange between participants, presenting numerous opportunities to cultivate ideas to help solve America’s growing problems. ”

The group meets several times a year for a confidential conference, the Times wrote.