Cain making announcement about bid Saturday
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press
ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — His campaign all but over, Herman Cain said Friday he would make an announcement Saturday in Atlanta about the future of his White House bid.
Cain, in a speech to supporters in South Carolina, didn't disclose whether he would drop out of the race for the GOP nomination after this week's allegation that he had a 13-year-long extramarital affair. He told supporters simply to stay tuned.
"Nobody's going to make me make that prematurely," Cain said. "That's all there is to it."
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It's hard to see how he goes forward. His poll numbers have dropped dramatically, backers are fleeing and even the candidate himself has acknowledged that fundraising has suffered since Ginger White publicly contended the two had had a long-running affair.
The embattled candidate was heading home to Georgia after the South Carolina event to meet with his wife face to face for the first time since White stepped forward this week.
Cain has denied the allegation, even as he has acknowledged what he called a friendship with the woman that included payments for what he said was financial hardship. He has said his wife didn't know of his connection to White.
"My wife and family comes first. I've got to take that into consideration," Cain told the crowd in South Carolina. "I don't doubt the support that I have. Just look at the people who are here."
"I'm on this journey for a reason. I don't look back," Cain added.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
