Herman Cain is now officially out having announcing the suspension of his campaign today. I’m not surprised, and believed he needed to get out amidst the accusation of an extra-marital affair. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports:
Herman Cain ended his Quixotic bid for the White House on Saturday, telling hundreds of supporters in Atlanta the path to victory no longer was passable.
Cain said the onslaught of accusations of sexual harassment and marital infidelity has caused too much of a strain on his marriage and that after discussing it with his wife, Gloria, they agreed it was time to focus on their family.
“As of today with a lot off prayer and soul searching I am suspending my presidential campaign,” Cain said, his wife standing behind him. “Because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family, not because we’re not fighters.
But Cain said he “will not be silenced and I’m not going away.”
He plans to run an ideas website of sorts as his plan B, and I’m sure continue to try to sell his book though I think he’ll have to add another chapter to end his campaign memoirs. Now the million dollar question is who will benefit? Not Mitt Romney. The winnowing of the field will always be bad news for him, especially in Iowa. Now who will receive the Lion’s share of his support? “Conventional wisdom” would say Newt Gingrich, but this doesn’t seem to be a conventional election cycle. Gingrich still lacks organization, and that is absolutely necessary to win Iowa. He is gaining ground in New Hampshire so Gingrich could be a surprise winner there which would not make Iowa vital for him. This will be interesting to see as every candidate seeks to reach out to Cain’s supporters.