Herman Cain suspends presidential campaign

ATLANTA, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Republican Herman Cain Saturday suspended his U.S. presidential campaign, citing "false accusations" and saying politics is a "dirty, dirty game."

"Becoming president was Plan A. And before you get discouraged, today I want to describe Plan B," Cain told supporters in Atlanta. "So as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family," he said with his wife, Gloria, by his side.

The announcement comes after allegations Cain was involved in a 13-year extramarital affair with Atlanta businesswoman Ginger White, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

"Plan B is that I will continue to be a voice for the people. … I will be making an endorsement in the near future, and I can tell you right now it will not be the current occupant of the White House," Cain promised after announcing his new Web site, TheCainSolutions.com, to make change from "the outside."

Cain's campaign earlier announced the creation of "Women for Cain," a group headed by Gloria Cain, The Washington Post reported.

The group was designed to "inspire a national women's alliance in support of Herman Cain for 2012," the campaign's Web site states.

The former Godfather's Pizza CEO's support in Iowa dropped like a rock in recent weeks, the Des Moines (Iowa) Register reported.

Only 8 percent of likely Republican voters said they would favor Cain, a Des Moines Register Iowa Poll showed.

The poll was conducted Nov. 27-30 by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines and is based on interviews with 2,222 registered Republican voters in Iowa. It had a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points.

"I think Cain's over," Republican strategist Mike Murphy said earlier this week. "In the preseason, Iowans are willing to sample different candidates. At the first look, he's a charming man, and people like him."