Cain's Numbers Climb Amid Scandal

Republicans shrug off sex-harassment allegations
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 4, 2011 10:44 AM CDT
Herman Cain's Poll Numbers Climb Amid Sex-Harassment Scandal
A new poll puts Cain and Romney at the top of the GOP field.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Herman Cain’s sex-harassment allegations don’t seem to have taken much of a toll on his poll numbers. Some 23% of Republicans support Cain’s nomination, putting him in a virtual tie with Mitt Romney, who is at 24%, a Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. That's the best he's done in WaPo-ABC polls all year. What’s more, 70% of Republicans say the allegations won’t affect their vote, and 55% don’t see the charges as a "serious matter." That doesn’t mean Cain is out of the woods, however.

Some 37% of Republicans and 42% of GOP-leaning independents call the scandal serious, and Republican women are twice as likely as men to agree that it could make them less likely to vote for Cain. Romney has a strong lead among those concerned about the allegations—details of which keep rolling in. Several sources have provided accounts of an accuser’s story to Politico and the New York Times; one says the woman felt “her job was at risk” if she rejected a suggestive comment from Cain. After she complained about Cain’s advances, she felt her work environment became hostile, the Times notes. (More Herman Cain 2012 stories.)

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