Post date: Dec 03, 2011 8:21:42 PM
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain effectively ends his 2012 bid for the White House saying, "false and unproved" sexual accusations have made it impossible for him to carry on.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 3, 2011) (NBC) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain effectively ended his 2012 White House race on Saturday (December 3), saying "false and unproved" sexual accusations have made it impossible for him to carry on a credible campaign.
"So, as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign. I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt, caused on me and my family - not because we are not fighters, not because I am not a fighter, it's just that when I went through this re-assessment of the impact on my family, first, the impact on you, my supporters - your support has been unwavering and undying - as well as the impact on the ability to continue to raise the necessary funds to be competitive - we had to come to this conclusion. But we had to come to this conclusion that it would be best to suspend this campaign. That's the bad news," Cain told supporters in Atlanta, Georgia.
The former pizza company executive said that he was starting a new website and would continue to speak about political issues.
"And Plan B is that I will continue to be a voice for the people. That's why today, we're launching the cainsolutions.com, where the people will choose - not the media, not the politicians - and the people will show that the people are still in charge of this country," Cain said.
Cain has been accused of sexually harassing several women - claims he has denied. One Georgia woman stated this week that she had a 13-year affair with Cain.
After jumping into the front-runner position two months ago, Cain has been in a free fall in the past month and his support in Iowa, which holds the first U.S. nominating contest on Jan. 3, stands at 8 percent.
Cain's conservative supporters will have to find a new home with voting to start next month in the race to determine the Republican's presidential nominee for 2012.
Cain's departure shapes the Republican race more clearly as a matchup between former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and surging rival Newt Gingrich.