Herman Cain

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Herman Cain, 2011.

Gage Skidmore

Herman Cainwas an American businessman and conservative political pundit who sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

Cain, the elder of two sons, was raised in Atlanta. His father worked as a chauffeur, barber, and janitor, and his mother as a domestic worker. After graduating in 1967 from Morehouse College with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, he moved to Virginia, where he worked as a civilian systems analyst for the Department of the Navy. He then enrolled at Purdue University, earning a master’s degree in computer science (1971). After a brief return to the navy, Cain became a business analyst for the Coca-Cola Company.

Cain remained with Coca-Cola until 1977, when he was hired by the Pillsbury Company to manage an analysis group. By 1981 he had been promoted to vice president of corporate systems and services. A year later, however, he left the position to helm a Philadelphia unit of Pillsbury’s struggling Burger King franchises. He went on to resuscitate the franchises in his charge through a series of customer service and employee morale initiatives.

In 1986 Cain took over the struggling Pillsbury holding Godfather’s Pizza. He aggressively streamlined its menu and closed unproductive restaurants, rescuing the chain from bankruptcy in a little over a year. In 1988 Cain led a buyout of the company. He served as chief executive officer and president of Godfather’s until 1996, when he assumed a parallel position with the National Restaurant Association. He had previously (1994–95) served as the association’s chairman of the board. Cain was also deputy chairman (1992–94) and chairman (1995–96) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

It was during this period that he first came to national prominence after confronting U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton at a nationally televised town hall meeting over health care reform. Cain saw the proposed changes as unfair to business owners and claimed that they would force him to cut jobs. His outspoken questioning of Clinton led prominent Republicans Jack Kemp and Newt Gingrich to recruit Cain for an economic study group. He later served as an adviser to Kemp when he was selected by Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole to run as vice president in 1996. (Dole and Kemp lost to Clinton and Al Gore.)

In 2004 Cain staged a failed bid for the Republican nomination for the state Senate in Georgia. He continued to espouse his conservative views on his Atlanta-based radio talk show (2008–11) and through appearances on Fox News. He became a vocal critic of the economic and social policies of the administration of U.S. Pres. Barack Obama, positioning himself as a spokesman of the burgeoning Tea Party movement. In May 2011 Cain announced his bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. In September he registered a surprise victory in the Florida straw poll, and, buoyed by appearances in debates among Republican candidates, Cain emerged as a front-runner. His so-called 9-9-9 tax plan—which called for the U.S. tax code to be replaced with a 9 percent national sales tax as well as tax rates of 9 percent on personal income and on corporate income—became a centrepiece of his campaign. However, allegations of sexual harassment surfaced, and in November 2011 he was accused of having had an extramarital affair; Cain denied all the claims. Questions also arose concerning his grasp of foreign policy. In December Cain suspended his presidential campaign. The following month he endorsed Newt Gingrich.

Cain subsequently maintained a relatively low public profile, but in April 2019 U.S. Pres. Donald Trump announced that he would be nominating Cain for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board. The move proved controversial, with some of Trump’s fellow Republicans voicing reservations. Amid doubts that he would secure enough votes for U.S. Senate confirmation, Cain withdrew his name from consideration.

Cain wrote several books espousing his business and political philosophies, including Speak as a Leader: Develop the Better Speaker in You (1999), CEO of Self: You’re in Charge (2001), and They Think You’re Stupid: Why Democrats Lost Your Vote and What Republicans Must Do to Keep It (2005). The memoir This Is Herman Cain! was published in 2011.

In June 2020 Cain was diagnosed with COVID-19, and a month later he succumbed to the virus.