On Saturday, Herman Cain announced that he was suspending his campaign for the presidency because of continued and expanding allegations of sexual misconduct and extra-marital affairs. Cain accused the media of focusing undue attention on his alleged dalliances, saying that the media spin has cast a cloud of doubt over himself, the campaign and his family.
But the campaign suspension doesn’t mean you’ve seen the last of Herman Cain. By suspending and not ending his bid he can still legally accept contributions and he may use those funds to travel around the country touting his tax plan (9-9-9) and his foreign policies.
Now that the Republican herd is thinning, former long shot Newt Gingrich is still surging in the polls. Analysts are saying that many of the supporters Cain lost in the last couple of weeks have moved to the Gingrich Camp. There’s even a chance that Cain could endorse Gingrich, which may cement Newt’s frontrunner status.
WEIGH IN:
So what does this mean for the rest of the contenders? Will Gingrich be the only one to benefit from the derailing of the Cain Train? Republicans seem about as excited about Gingrich as they are about Romney. Will we see another candidate surge ahead? Or even a new horse in the race?
Guests:
Arnold Steinberg, veteran Republican political strategist and analyst
Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist; former senior Obama advisor in 2008, now runs the Los Angeles office for the Dewey Square Group