Cain will not endorse Gingrich, reps say
Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R) arrives at Trump Tower to meet with Donald Trump on December 5, 2011 in New York City. Gingrich, who’s seen a surge in polls in recent weeks, attended a town hall event December 3, 2011 hosted by the Tea Party of Staten Island.
Spokespersons from Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich have denied media reports claiming the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO would be backing the new GOP frontrunner on Monday.
Spokesman for Gingrich R.C. Hammond and Cain’s campaign chief Mark Block said they are not expecting endorsements any time soon, Reuters reported.
Cain announced over the weekend that he would be suspending his campaign for president due to recent sexual harassment and extramarital affair allegations that have “continued hurt caused on me and my family.”
More from GlobalPost: Herman Cain suspends his campaign (VIDEO)
With Cain’s departure, Sunday’s Iowa Poll showed Gingrich as the top candidate at 25 percent, with Ron Paul at 18 and Mitt Romney third with 16 percent, according to the Des Moines Register. Cain plunged from 23 percent to 8 in one month.
Gingrich’s national poll fares even better at 27 percent of the GOP vote with Romney currently holding second with 20 percent.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives’ current lead in the GOP presidential race may be an advantage for President Barack Obama and many Democrats.
The Christian Science Monitor wrote:
“So we guess the more precise issue here is whether the Democrats would rather face Gingrich than Romney. Lots of Democrats publicly say ‘yes.’ They’d love to run against a top-of-the-ticket name with such a lengthy record of controversial statements, and who built a large Washington-based business machine.”
However some Democratic strategists believe Gingrich’s authenticity and his appeal to Hispanic voters can be a problem for Obama, according to the Washington Post.