Herman Cain, the star Republican presidential candidate, is reassessing whether he will continue his race after his recent poll numbers plunged after being the GOP front-runner and media darling less than a month ago.
Cain cites accusations of sexual impropriety by multiple women in recent weeks that, combined with the latest bombshell of a supposed 13-year extramarital affair with Ginger White of suburban Atlanta, that’s forcing Cain to undergo deep introspection “over the next several days,” according to National Review. Cain admits the alleged affair allegation creates “too much of a cloud, in some people’s minds, as to whether or not they would be able to support us going forth,” Cain said.
On Monday, White further dented Cain’s seemingly impregnable campaign armor when she claimed publicly of a “very inappropriate” sexual affair. Despite Cain’s vehement denials, replete with denunciations of White’s statements from Cain’s lawyers, the accrued negative publicity in November has caused irreparable damage to Cain’s image and candidacy, his competitors say.
Rep. Michele Bachmann suggested Tuesday morning that the people around her believe Cain is “done” in the wake of the affair claim. “Everyone has said to me — when it came out yesterday — this is it, he’s done,” the Republican presidential candidate said on the Scott Hennen radio show. “People just don’t see that there is an ability for him to be able to come back after that.”
The numbers reflect Bachmann’s sentiments, whose own campaign imploded from bubble-headed statements and other unforgivable gaffes. Before the late-October accusations of sexual misconduct by multiple women while he was head of the National Restaurant Association, Cain was polling in the 20-30 percent range, putting him atop polls of the GOP presidential contenders. Since then, polls show Cain’s numbers have slid into the mid-teens, behind Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. –terry shropshire
