Woman alleges affair with Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain

WASHINGTON: An Atlanta businesswoman claimed Monday a 13-year affair with Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain, whose campaign has already been hurt by a rash of sexual harassment allegations. "It was pretty simple," Ginger White told Atlanta's Fox 5 television. "It wasn't complicated. I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware I was involved in a very inappropriate situation, relationship." Cain, a former pizza company executive who has faded back in the pack of Republicans seeking to take on President Barack Obama in November 2012, denied the allegations preemptively shortly the before news broke. "This individual is going to accuse me of an affair for an extended period of time," Cain told CNN, vehemently denying any sex was involved. "It is someone that Iknow who is an acquaintance that I thought was a friend."

"I did not have an affair," Cain said, insisting he had no plans to quit the White House race. "Not as long as my wife is behind me and as long as my wife believes I should stay in this race, I'm staying in this race," he said, adding that he had spoken to his wife about the allegations. Cain also faces sexual harassment accusations from four women -- two of them who came forward in public. He has denied all impropriety. "I will not be deterred by false, anonymous, incorrect accusations," Cain said earlier this month. His campaign also faltered when he struggled to respond to a basic question about Libya and appeared not to know that China had nuclear weapons, calling into question his presidential credentials. Cain told CNN on Monday that he would forge ahead and shrugged off the latest accusations by saying: "Here we go again." His attorney Lin Wood sought to downplay the affair claim, saying "this is not an accusation of harassment in the workplace -- this is not an accusation of an assault -- which are subject matters of legitimate inquiry to a political candidate."
"Rather, this appears to be an accusation of private, alleged consensual conduct between adults -- a subject matter which is not a proper subject of inquiry by the media or the public," Wood said. "No individual, whether a private citizen, a candidate for public office or a public official, should be questioned about his or her private sexual life. The public's right to know and the media's right to report has boundaries and most certainly those boundaries end outside of one's bedroom door."