Elections

Cain: Newt shouldn’t listen to those calling for him to drop out

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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Herman Cain told The Daily Caller that Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich should not succumb to the pressure of those who want him to drop out of the primary contest.

“I don’t think Newt Gingrich should drop out of the race until Newt Gingrich believes he should drop out of the race,” the former presidential candidate said in a statement provided to TheDC. (RELATED: Full coverage of the Gingrich campaign)

The former Godfather’s Pizza CEO is a high-profile supporter of Gingrich’s effort and has campaigned on his behalf.

Supporters of former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum have argued that front-runner Mitt Romney could be stopped from winning the nomination if Gingrich would leave the race.

Cain said Gingrich shouldn’t listen to those calls. “Until a candidate has 1,144 delegates, the race is simply not over.”

“That decision should not be made due to pressure from the GOP ‘establishment,’ the media, Rick Santorum or any of the candidates,” he said.

Gingrich has vowed to continue his race until the Republican convention in August.

“Regarding a brokered convention scenario: This would not be all bad,” he said. “A brokered convention would be high intensity, high levels of coverage and the delegates would have more say.”

Cain also called the prospect of Gingrich dropping out of the race “a two-sided coin.”

“One side is that should Newt drop out, and Romney become the presumptive nominee, Romney would have that much more time to solidify the base, raise money and conduct a strong campaign,” he said. “The other side of that coin is that much time would give the Obama administration, his supporters and the media more time to try to destroy Romney.”

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