ATLANTA — A defiant Herman Cain suspended his faltering bid for the Republican presidential nomination Saturday amid a drumbeat of sexual misconduct allegations against him, throwing his staunchly conservative supporters up for grabs with just one month to go before the lead-off caucuses in Iowa.
Cain condemned the accusations as “false and unproven” but said they had been hurtful to his family, particularly his wife, Gloria, and were drowning out his ability to deliver his message. His wife stood behind him on the stage, smiling and waving as the crowd chanted her name.
“So as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul-searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distractions and the continued hurt caused on me and my family,” a tired-looking Cain told about 400 supporters.
Cain’s announcement came five days after an Atlanta-area woman, Ginger White, claimed she and Cain had an affair for
more than a decade, a claim that followed several allegations of sexual harassment against the Georgia businessman.
“Now, I have made many mistakes in life. Everybody has. I’ve made mistakes professionally, personally, as a candidate, in terms of how I run my campaign. And I take responsibility for the mistakes I’ve made, and I have been the very first to own up to any mistakes I’ve made,” he said.
But Cain intoned: “I am at peace with my God. I am at peace with my wife. And she is at peace with me.”
White’s attorney said after the announcement that Cain had disparaged his client and should apologize. Cain had called her a “troubled Atlanta businesswoman” whom he had tried to help. Cain’s campaign had no immediate response.
Support up for grabs
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has, so far, been the biggest beneficiary of Cain’s precipitous slide. Polls show Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney atop the field in what is shaping up as a two-man race heading into early voting states.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann will likely make a strong play for Cain’s anti-establishment Tea Party backing as they claim Romney’s conservative credentials are suspect.
Cain said he would offer an endorsement, and his former rivals were quick to issue statements praising his conservative ideals and grassroots appeal.
At a Tea Party rally in Staten Island, Gingrich praised Cain for optimism and big ideas. “He had the courage to launch the 9-9-9 plan, which, whether you liked it or disliked it, was a big idea and started to elevate the debate toward big solutions and not the usual nitpicking, consultant-driven negativity,” Gingrich said. He was referring to Cain’s catchy but controversial plan to scrap the current tax code for 9 percent taxes on personal and corporate income as well as a new 9 percent national sales tax.
Some disappointed Cain supporters were clearly in search of a candidate on Saturday following his withdrawal.
“I don’t know where I will go now,” Janet Edwards, 52, said following Cain’s announcement. “I guess I have to start looking at the rest of them.”
Cain told supporters he planned to continue his efforts to influence Washington and announced “Plan B” — what he called a grassroots effort to return government to the people.
He announced the formation of TheCainSolutions.com, which he described as a grassroots effort to bring government back to the people.
Saturday’s event was a bizarre piece of political theater even for a campaign that has seemed to thrive on defying convention.
Cain marked the end of his bid at what was supposed to be the grand opening of his new campaign headquarters in Atlanta. Volunteers had been up through the night preparing the former flooring warehouse to open as the new hub of Cain’s early-state outreach.
Minutes before he took the stage to pull the plug, aides and supporters took to the podium to urge attendees to vote for Cain and travel to early voting states to rev up support for his bid. “Join the Cain train,” David McCleary, Cain’s Georgia director, urged the audience.
Cain marveled at rising from a childhood in an Atlanta of segregated water fountains and poverty to what he called “the final four” of the presidential contest.
The former Godfather’s Pizza chief executive, who has never held elective office, rose just weeks ago to lead the Republican race. But he fumbled policy questions, leaving some to wonder whether he was ready for the presidency.
