Herman Cain to back Newt Gingrich: Scandal-hit pizza tycoon to endorse former rival after dropping out of presidential race

With the Republican field’s first major test just weeks away, the failed presidential bid of Herman Cain is throwing his support behind the current frontrunner.

Sources told Fox 5 Atlanta that Herman Cain will endorse the presidential bid of Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich today.

Several sexual harassment allegations and a claim of a long-term affair left the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO's White House bid all but destroyed.

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Boost: The endorsement will likely put some steam behind the Gingrich campaign, which has so far been the biggest beneficiary of Cain's slide

Support: Herman Cain's endorsement of Newt Gingrich should not come as much of a surprise, as they are close friends

The formal announcement is reportedly scheduled for this afternoon at 2pm in New York, where Gingrich is currently campaigning.

The endorsement will likely put some steam behind the Gingrich campaign, which has so far been the biggest beneficiary of Cain's slide.

The endorsement should not come as much of a surprise, as Cain and Gingrich are friends.

A Des Moines Register poll conducted November 27-30 and released late Saturday found the former House speaker leading the GOP field with 25 per cent support, ahead of Paul at 18 per cent and Romney at 16.

A separate NBC News/Marist poll showed Gingrich beating Romney, 26 per cent to 18 per cent, among Republican caucus attendees in Iowa.

Gingrich also is enjoying national popularity that could give him the momentum he needs to overcome deficiencies in the organization of his campaign.

At the same time, Gingrich says he knows his surge in the polls could disappear if his opponents stage a comeback.

'I'm not going to say that any of my friends can't suddenly surprise us,' Gingrich said at a recent town hall meeting in New York sponsored by tea party supporters.

The battle is on: Bachmann, Perry, Paul and Santorum are all hoping to grab Cain supporters and upset the Romney-Gingrich dogfight

Cain’s departure aroused speculation among his former rivals over who would benefit the most from his departure.

Reps Ron Paul of Texas and Michele Bachmann of Minnesota both said Sunday that Cain’s supporters would likely fall in line behind them because of their messages on limited government.

Bachmann said: 'A lot of Herman Cain supporters have been calling our office and they've been coming over to our side,' said Bachmann. 'They saw Herman Cain as an outsider and I think they see that my voice would be the one that would be most reflective of his.'

Likewise, Paul said he was optimistic that Cain's departure would reinvigorate his campaign.

'We're paying a lot of attention to that, because obviously they're going to go somewhere in the next week or so,' Paul said of Cain's supporters.

Santorum predicted that his campaign would pick up steam in coming days.

'We have a very strong, consistent conservative message that matches up better with Iowans than anybody else. And we think we're going to surprise a lot of people,' he said.

The stakes were highest for Mitt Romney, who likely had the most to lose with a Gingrich endorsement.

Big day: Herman Cain faced showdown talks with his wife Gloria last night before announcing today that he is dropping out of the race

Romney is going strong in New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first primary on January 10.

A month before the first vote is cast in the Iowa caucus and five weeks before the New Hampshire primary, most GOP candidates were looking to a week of heavy campaigning in Iowa ahead of the next debate, scheduled for Saturday, the Associated Press reports.

Once surging in the polls, Cain dropped out of the race Saturday after battling allegations of sexual harassment and a claim that he had a 13-year extramarital affair.

The Georgia businessman has denied the accusations.

He came under further fire on Sunday when conservative columnist George Will called Cain an 'entrepreneurial charlatan' and accused him of being an opportunist.

In a roundtable discussion on ABC's This Week with Christiane Amanpour, Mr Will said: 'Mr Cain, who used this as a book tour, in a fundamentally disrespectful approach to the selection of presidents.'

If his campaign was just a book tour, it didn't net great results - This Is Herman Cain only sold about 30,000 copies.

Stinging criticism: Conservative columnist George Will on Sunday accused Herman Cain of treating his campaign as a book tour

A Des Moines Register poll conducted November 27-30 and released late Saturday found Gingrich leading the GOP field with 25 per cent support, ahead of Paul at 18 per cent and Romney at 16.

A separate NBC News/Marist poll showed Gingrich beating Romney, 26 per cent to 18 per cent, among Republican caucus attendees in Iowa.

Gingrich also is enjoying national popularity that could give him the momentum he needs to overcome deficiencies in the organization of his campaign.

At the same time, Gingrich says he knows his surge in the polls could disappear if his opponents stage a comeback.

'I'm not going to say that any of my friends can't suddenly surprise us,' Gingrich said at a recent town hall meeting in New York sponsored by tea party supporters.

Meanwhile, Romney is running strong in New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first primary on January 10.



Hopeful: Both Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann believe they stand the best chance of picking up Cain votes



Romney is also seen by most conservatives at this point as having the greatest chance of defeating President Barack Obama next year.

But Romney continues to be viewed with suspicion by many conservatives who say he has changed his stance on such critical issues as abortion and health care.

Santorum acknowledged Sunday that Romney has embraced more conservative positions on issues.

'The question is, you know, what's the sincerity of the move and whether he can be trusted,' said Santorum.

Bachmann said it was too soon to declare anyone a true front-runner because the dynamic in the race was constantly changing.

'We've got 30 days,' she said. 'That's an eternity in this race.'

Reince Priebus, the Republican Party chairman, said Sunday that he was indifferent to Cain's departure and that it was 'only natural' in the face of falling poll numbers and trouble raising money.

This week's agenda for the primary candidates included a stop in Arizona by Romney and a forum Wednesday by the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington, which is expected to attract Bachmann, Gingrich, Huntsman, Perry, Romney and Santorum.

Gingrich was scheduled to meet Monday with real-estate mogul Donald Trump at Trump's New York offices.

Trump, who briefly entered the primary race in the spring and drew considerable publicity when he questioned the validity of Obama's birth certificate, said he would moderate a Republican presidential debate in Iowa on December 27.

Paul, who has clashed publicly with Trump, said he thought the GOP was making a mistake in giving Trump so much credibility.

'I don't understand the marching to his office. I mean I didn't know that he had an ability to lay on hands, you know, and anoint people,' Paul said.