Report says Cain will endorse Gingrich

Fox 5 Atlanta reported Sunday that sources said businessman Herman Cain would endorse GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on Monday.

Cain, a former Godfather's Pizza CEO, announced Saturday that he was suspending his own campaign for the GOP presidential nomination.

Gingrich, who attended the Kennedy Center Honors Sunday night, would not comment when asked by The Hill about reports Cain would endorse him. "No politics tonight," Gingrich said.

Cain, who has never held elected office, surged to the top of numerous GOP polls after a series of straw poll victories.

His campaign was soon on the defensive, however, after reports surfaced that he had been accused of sexual harassment by co-workers when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. An Atlanta businesswoman, Ginger White, also alleged that she had a 13-year extramarital affair with Cain.

Cain has repeatedly denied the accusations, but said during his announcement to supporters on Saturday that they had exacted a “tremendous painful price on my family.”

He pledged to remain active in conservative politics and continue to push his policy proposals — most notably his 9-9-9 tax reform plan.

In his speech to supporters on Saturday, Cain had indicated that he would endorse another candidate "in the near future."

His withdrawal from the race brought praise from his GOP rivals.

"I am proud to know Herman Cain and consider him a friend and I know he will continue to be a powerful voice for years to come," Gingrich said in a tweet.

Gingrich, the former House Speaker, has vaulted to the top of numerous GOP national polls. This weekend, two polls also showed him in the lead in Iowa, which holds the first-in-the-nation caucuses, and gaining ground in the early voting state of New Hampshire.

—This story was updated at 11:13 p.m.

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