ATLANTA (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is making a "major announcement" Saturday on whether he will abandon his shaken campaign after a woman's allegation of an extramarital affair.
It is the latest — and perhaps final — twist in a saga that has taken the Georgia businessman from longshot to surprise front-runner to embattled tabloid subject.
Cain arrived at his home Friday afternoon to talk with his wife of 42 years, Gloria, in their first face-to-face meeting since the allegation of a 13-year affair was made public this week. Cain's campaign also has been rocked by multiple sexual harassment allegations. He denies wrongdoing.
A political novice, Cain had leveraged strong anti-tax tea party support to hurtle to the front of the pack in October, casting himself as an antiestablishment outsider. His catchy 9-9-9 tax overhaul proposal helped his rise.
The main beneficiary of Cain's fall has been former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, who has risen steadily in polls nationally and in early voting states. Gingrich has emerged as the main challenger to fellow front-runner Mitt Romney in the Republican race to take on President Barack Obama next year.
Earlier Friday, in a speech in South Carolina, Cain would not disclose whether he would drop out but told supporters to stay tuned. He said he would clarify the next steps of the campaign and assured backers the affair claim was "garbage." But he also said he needed to consider what he would do with campaign donations already accepted if he dropped out of the race.
"My wife and family comes first. I've got to take that into consideration," Cain said.
Cain had not seen his wife since Ginger White, 46, came forward and said she had a sexual affair with Cain that lasted more than a decade. He has said they were only friends but acknowledged that he helped pay her monthly bills and expenses. His wife, Cain said, did not know of the friendship with White.
Cain said he is reassessing whether his presidential bid is still viable. But it was difficult to imagine a path forward with just a month until the leadoff Iowa caucuses.
A Des Moines Register poll released Friday showed Cain's support plummeting, with backing from 8 percent of Republican caucusgoers in Iowa, down from 23 percent a month ago.
Fundraising has also fallen off. He issued an email appeal to supporters on Friday asking for donations, in an attempt to gauge whether his financial support has dried up.
Cain's campaign was sent reeling when it was revealed a little more than a month ago that the National Restaurant Association 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 his campaign was taking some steps to blunt the allegations, unveiling a "Women for Herman Cain" webpage with testimonials from female backers, some urging him to stay in the race.
It was led by Gloria Cain.
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