Herman Cain joins GOP presidential field

ATLANTA, May 21 (UPI) -- Herman Cain, the fast-food industry executive turned talk radio show host, said Saturday he is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. president.

"I'm running for president of the United States, and I'm not running for second," The Washington Post said Cain told supporters at a rally in his hometown of Atlanta.

The newspaper said Cain faces an uphill grind since a recent Gallup poll indicated only 29 percent of Republicans know who he is. However, he fared well in the first GOP candidates' debate this month, with a focus group declaring him the winner, the Post said.

Cain ran for the U.S. Senate in Georgia seven years ago but lost in the GOP primary.

He gained notoriety in 1994 when he challenged President Bill Clinton's healthcare reform plan at a nationally televised town hall meeting.