Cain to campaign in New Hampshire
For the first time since the revelation of sexual harassment allegations against Herman Cain, the Republican presidential candidate will campaign in the Granite State.
Cain is scheduled to hold a rally with supporters Thursday afternoon at the Alpine Grove banquet facility in Hollis, N.H., featuring country western and gospel singer Buddy Jewell.
Cain, the former chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza, has had less of a presence in the early voting states of New Hampshire and Iowa than many of the other candidates, instead spending time on a book tour that took him through the South. This will be his first visit to New Hampshire since the presidential debate at Dartmouth College in mid-October.
Cain has denied the allegations of sexual harassment, which stem from his tenure as president of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. Cain has continued raising money – his campaign says he raised $2.5 million in the 10 days after the first allegations were revealed by Politico. He has fallen in the polls but is still ranked among the top three candidates in six separate polls since the allegations came out, raising questions about how much voters care about the allegations.
In New Hampshire last week, around a half dozen conservative voters told the Globe that they weren’t worried about the allegations against Cain. “I don’t think anyone’s come forward with hard evidence,’’ said Joyce Arivella, an independent voter and office worker from New Boston deciding between Cain and former House speaker Newt Gingrich.
Though two women allegedly reached financial settlements with the National Restaurant Association because of the allegations, Arivella said that won’t sway her decision whether to support Cain. “(A settlement) doesn’t mean someone’s guilty. It just means they don’t want a scandal going on,’’ she said.
Candidates Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry will also visit New Hampshire this week. Huntsman, the former Utah governor, is planning a three-day swing, starting tomorrow, which will include two town hall meetings and the tour of a gun factory. He will return next Monday for another town hall meeting.
Perry, the Texas governor, will visit on Wednesday to tour a manufacturing plant and hold a town hall meeting.
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