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Herman Cain, businessman turned politician, withdrew his candidacy for the Republican nomination at a rally in Atlanta on Saturday.
“As of today, with a lot of prayer and soul-searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign, “said Cain while a crowd of supporters chanted his name.
“Because of the continued distractions, the continued hurt caused on me and my family, not because we are not fighters. Not because I’m not a fighter,” Cain added.
Cain’s withdrawal came in the wake of a poll by the Des Moines Register which showed that many of his supporters are beginning to favor Newt Gingrich in the race for Republican candidate. The poll revealed that Gingrich has the backing of 25% of likely Republican caucus-goers; Representative Ron Paul of Texas had 18%; while Mitt Romney placed third with 16%. Mr. Cain came out with only 8% of those polled, which was a major downturn from previous polls.
Mr. Romney commented on Saturday that the race is still far from decided.
“I don’t think people have really settled down in a final way to decide who they’re going to support in the nomination process,” Romney said, adding, “I hope they give us a good careful look.”