Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, right, bows and his wife Gloria applauds as Cain arrives on stage for a scheduled announcement Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Atlanta. "I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distractions and the continued hurt caused on me and my family," Cain told several hundred supporters gathered at what was to have been the opening of his national campaign headquarters. (AP Photo/David Tulis)
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, right, bows and his wife Gloria applauds as Cain arrives on stage for a scheduled announcement Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Atlanta. "I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distractions and the continued hurt caused on me and my family," Cain told several hundred supporters gathered at what was to have been the opening of his national campaign headquarters. (AP Photo/David Tulis)
El aspirante presidencial republicano Herman Cain baja de un estrado acompa?ado de su esposa Gloria tras anunciar su retiro de la competencia interna del partido, el s?bado 3 de diciembre de 2011, en Atlanta. (Foto AP/David Tulis)
Supporters from left, Marianne Sanderson, Lisa Shiflett, and Michelle McDonald, react to the announcement by Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain that he is suspending his campaign at an event Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain announces he is suspending his campaign as his wife Gloria, left, looks on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Atlanta. "I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distractions and the continued hurt caused on me and my family," Cain told several hundred supporters gathered at what was to have been the opening of his national campaign headquarters. (AP Photo/David Tulis)
ATLANTA (AP) ? Businessman Herman Cain suspended his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Saturday following a steady drumbeat of sexual misconduct allegations he said were harming his family and drowning out his ability to deliver his message.
With just one month to go until the lead-off Iowa caucuses, Cain's announcement is tantamount to a concession. Still, he 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.
It was a remarkable turnabout for a man who just weeks ago vaulted out of nowhere to the top of the Republican presidential field, fueled by a populist, outsider appeal and his catchy 9-9-9 tax overhaul plan which called for a 9 percent tax on income, a 9 percent business tax and a 9 percent national sales tax.
Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza chief executive, has never held elected office, but the black Georgia businessman rose to become an unexpected front-runner in the volatile Republican race just weeks ago as other candidates such as Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann stumbled. Cain enjoyed strong support from conservatives looking for an alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, whose policy shifts on abortion, gay rights and health care reform were viewed warily by a large segment of core Republican voters.
Polls show that the main beneficiary of Cain's withdrawal is likely to be former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, who has risen steadily in surveys nationally and in early voting states. Gingrich has now emerged as the main challenger to fellow front-runner Romney in the Republican race to take on President Barack Obama next year.
Cain's announcement came five days after an Atlanta-area woman claimed she and Cain had an affair for more than a decade, a claim that followed several allegations of sexual harassment against him.
"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."
Cain denounced the accusations of impropriety against him as "false and unproven" but said that they had been hurtful to his family, particularly his wife, Gloria.
"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 distractions and the continued hurt caused on me and my family," a tired-looking Cain told about 400 supporters.
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. The space was rented when Cain was surprisingly leading the Republican pack.
Minutes before he took the stage to pull the plug on his campaign with his wife at his side, 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 said he would offer an endorsement in the near future and he predicted a scramble among Republicans in the field to win the backing of his conservative, tea party base supporting limited government, spending cuts and no tax increases.
Former Republican rivals quickly issued statements Saturday praising Cain's conservative credentials and appeal.
Cain vaulted to the top of the Republican presidential field in October. But he then fumbled policy questions on issues from Libya to abortion, leaving some to wonder whether he was ready for the presidency. Then it was revealed at the end of October that the National Restaurant Association had paid settlements to two women who claimed Cain sexually harassed them while he was president of the organization.
A third woman told The Associated Press that Cain made inappropriate sexual advances but that she didn't file a complaint. A fourth woman also stepped forward to accuse Cain of groping her in a car in 1997.
Cain has denied wrongdoing in all cases, and continued to do so Saturday.
Polls suggest his popularity has suffered. A Des Moines Register poll released Friday showed Cain's support plunging, with backing from 8 percent of Republican caucusgoers in Iowa, compared with 23 percent a month ago. The Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3 kick off the state-by-state contests to choose delegates to the party's national nominating convention.
But Cain said Saturday he would not go away and would continue trying to influence Washington from the outside,
He announced the formation of CainSolutions.com, which he said was a grassroots effort to bring government back to the people.
"I am not going to be silenced, and I am not going away. And therefore, as of today, Plan B. Plan B," he said.
____
Associated Press writers Shannon McCaffrey in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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