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Harassment Charges: Conservatives rally around Cain
Cain was skipping a gathering Tuesday of fellow party hopefuls in Iowa where they were to outline their plans for fixing the damaged U.S. economy. On Jan. 3, Iowa will be the first American state to formally select a favourite Republican candidate for nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election.
Cain has been taking an unorthodox path in his campaign, largely eschewing early voting states to focus heavily on the South, where tea party groups, social conservatives and evangelical voters that make up the backbone of his support hold sway.
Also absent from the Iowa forum will be Cain’s fellow front-runner, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has sought to stay above the inter-party scramble that has seen other would-be Obama challengers shoot to the top of the Republican nominating heap only to plunge dramatically and quickly out of contention.
Attending the session sponsored by the state’s Republican Gov. Terry Branstead will be Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who looks to the Iowa contest to steady his campaign after stumbling in recent weeks. He planned to tout his role in keeping jobs growing in his state during the recession.
Also signed up is Ron Paul of Texas. Recent polling in Iowa shows Paul running third to Cain and Romney, who are virtually tied.
Cain spent Monday in Washington, answering questions about why the restaurant trade group he once led paid to settle sexual harassment complaints against him. He planned another day in Washington on Tuesday, trying to quiet concerns that could drag down his meteoric rise in polling.
Aides to Romney, the successful venture capitalist who pitches himself as the best opponent to Obama on the economy, said he had a scheduling conflict that prevented him from joining. Romney planned to return to the campaign trail Thursday in New Hampshire. That state will hold the first primary vote in the nation shortly after the Iowa caucuses.
Without that pair, the event seemed more an opportunity for the Republicans’ second tier to make a pitch while honing attacks on Obama, and probably on each other. The rivals are not set to face each other directly, yet the new sense of urgency in the campaign is likely be on display as each seeks to distinguish himself or herself just two months before Iowa’s caucuses.
Cain, who is best known for his management of a pizza restaurant chain, stunned the political establishment with his rise from national obscurity to place at or near the top of national surveys and polls in early presidential nominating states. He is, competitive with Romney, long considered the front-runner for the nomination.
The Politico report was based on anonymous sources and, in one case, what the publication said was a review of documentation that described the allegations and the resolution. Politico said Cain refused to comment when asked specifically about one of the woman’s claims.
Copyright 2011. The Associated Press.
