Republican hopeful Herman Cain reviews his options after affair allegation

REPUBLICAN presidential contender Herman Cain has told his staff he is reassessing the future of his campaign after a woman accused him of having a 13-year affair with her.

Mr Cain, who already has been hit by allegations of sexual harassment, denies any such liaison. The woman, Ginger White, told a local Atlanta television station that her on-and-off entanglement with Mr Cain began in the mid-1990s.

The black businessman was a leading candidate until recently but he has nose-dived in polls for the Republican race for the right to challenge president Barack Obama in 2012 after a series of harassment allegations and campaign gaffes. Yesterday, the former pizza executive said he would continue campaigning for the next few days while he “reviews his position”.

“Obviously, this is cause for reassessment,” he told his staff, according to a transcript published by the conservative National Review magazine. “If a decision is made, different than to plough ahead, you all will be the first to know,” he said.

The allegation of an affair comes five weeks before Iowa kicks off the Republican nominating battle, giving Mr Cain little time to resurrect a campaign that led the polls in October.

Since then, four women have alleged he sexually harassed them, while he has also blundered on the issue of abortion and Libya.

Ms White, however, is claiming Mr Cain is her long-time lover. She produced bills showing calls to his personal mobile phone. She said they first hooked up after a National Restaurant Association event in Kentucky and ended up in a hotel bed.