He’s never before held elected office and lost in the Republican primary seven years ago when he sought Georgia’s Senate seat. He even acknowledges the widespread belief that most observers write him off as the longest of longshots.
But Herman Cain, the Atlanta businessman and one-time pizza king who announced his presidential candidacy Saturday, said he plans to alter the course of the election by appealing to grassroots voters and competing aggressively across the early state map. And he said he’s already looking beyond Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada and Florida.
Cain delivered a rousing half-hour speech that touched on his childhood and adolescence in Atlanta, but quickly launched into a fiery critique of President Obama’s leadership.
“It’s time to get real. Hope and change ain’t working,” Cain said, turning around the “hope” meme that Obama used in 2008. “Hope and change is not a solution.”
Cain had his coming-out moment on stage with four of his likely rivals at the first political debate of the 2012 season, held May 5 in South Carolina. With A-list candidates like Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin on the sidelines, Cain wowed onlookers in that appearance, including a focus group convened by GOP pollster Frank Luntz.
The majority of those sitting in with Luntz said Cain had won them over with his “common sense solutions” and clear, concise delivery. “I’ve done maybe 35, 40 of these debates for Fox and I’ve never had the kind of reaction that we have tonight,” Luntz said. “Something very special happened this evening.”
“We knew that Mr. Cain would do well at the South Carolina debate, but didn’t anticipate the explosion in volunteers, donations and media requests that have since followed his performance,” said Mark Block, a Cain adviser and former Americans for Prosperity state director. “I think, quite frankly, we’ll see the same kind of bounce after his announcement on Saturday.”
With real estate mogul Donald Trump and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee taking a pass on 2012 — and Newt Gingrich’s clumsy entry into the race — Cain advisers say their candidate’s path to the nomination becomes more plausible.
“The things that [Gingrich] said about supporting parts of Obamacare and, quite frankly, trashing Congressman Paul Ryan have done nothing but help us,” Block said. “Some people who may have had a favorite son are now looking for somebody else to support. I think for the vast majority of those people, Herman Cain is where they’re ending up.”
Advisers to Cain don’t believe any one state is crucial to catapult him to “serious-candidate” status, saying instead that he must place among the top three in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“We’ve got to place in the top three to be a contender,” Block said. “We’re just going to keep to our game plan of getting him out to these key states. He’s our best asset, he sells himself.”
But advisers say he also plans to campaign aggressively outside the early-state map— citing Cain’s recent trip to Fargo, N.D. — to build grassroots support and boost fundraising.
Cain’s campaign will be structured on a model similar to Americans for Prosperity’s network, drawing from Block’s experience as the group’s Wisconsin state director. The campaign hub will be in Atlanta, but with semi-autonomous state branches.
“Barack Obama may be raising a billion dollars, but the people of this country are going to raise some Cain,” he said.
Cain has already begun building up his organization in first-in the nation Iowa, with a cadre of activists, and is expected to participate in this summer’s Iowa GOP straw poll in Ames.
The Atlanta businessman turned heads in a speech in the Hawkeye State alongside four of his likely rivals at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s presidential forum in March, where he and former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer garnered the most enthusiastic response from the influential group of Iowa conservatives. Weeks later, Iowa Republicans interviewed by POLITICO still recalled his speech as stirring.
“I’ve seen him talk at church services. I’ve seen him talk one-on-one with key business leaders and influential leaders. He’s the same wherever he speaks,” said Charlie Gruschow, a supporter of Cain’s Iowa effort and founder of the Des Moines Tea Party. “He can talk to people as people, not looking down at them as some politicians do.”
Cain, the lone black GOP presidential hopeful, addressed the issue of race head-on at his March Iowa speech, invoking one of the well-worn lines in his campaign arsenal.
“I am an American black conservative, an ABC, and I’m proud of it,” Cain said, drawing huge applause. He added that he hates being labled by others, and said “I’ve been called a racist too! Go figure, I haven’t figured that one out yet.”
Gruschow, who attended the Des Moines speech, said that’s just honesty. “That’s what people long for,” he said. “When he says he’s been called names — Uncle Tom, racist, Oreo — Herman has dealted with that. The issue that he brings out is ‘hey, we can think for ourselves.’”
Joni Scotter, a well-known Iowa GOP volunteer who describes herself as an “addict” praised Cain’s legwork in the state — he’s made 17 trips to the Hawkeye State.
“He’s come to Iowa, and that’s really important to Iowans. They really want to get nose-to-nose with each candidate, so it’s really important that they do keep coming in,” said 69 year-old-Scotter, who lives in Cedar Rapids.
Still, she said she was surprised by the rapt crowds that have taken to his rhetoric on race.
“Iowa elected Obama,” she said. “I’ve heard people cheer on that too and it surprises me. Here, it’s not even a second thought.”
“He’s polished. He’s right on the issues. His stance on the issues is in alignment with the average caucus-goers,” said Steve Scheffler, the prominent social conservative who heads the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition and is also the state’s RNC committeeman.
Polls bear out Cain’s dual-pronged challenge: Cain is the least well-known candidate in the Republican field, but generates the most enthusiastic response among those who are familiar with him, according to a Gallup poll out Wednesday.
“Herman Cain has some of the answers, but it’s going to take him a lot of money to build up a grassroots network, which he hasn’t done. It’s going to take a lot of money to run a strong campaign,” Jennings said.
After simultaneously announcing his candidacy with an Atlanta rally and social media campaign on Saturday, Cain will speak to members of the Council for National Policy, a coalition of top Christian conservative leaders, gathered for a conference in McLean, Va.
Advisers to Cain say the speech will likely focus on his personal history as a job creator, the economy, national security and energy.
Even as the candidate hosts a more traditional announcement than many of his likely rivals — Newt Gingrich announced his candidacy on Twitter and Facebook, while Tim Pawlenty has leaned heavily on web videos — advisers say his campaign will not be a traditional one.
“We don’t consider it a campaign anything like you’ve seen before,” Block said. “It will be heavy on what I call the new media, be it Facebook or Twitter.”
They want to pair technology with face-to-face meetings in order to engage and inspire local supporters.
“It’s obvious when people meet [Cain], they understand his leadership abilities and they become believers,” he said
Ahead of the Saturday announcement, Cain launched a new fundraising website arealleader.com, which will allow him to raise money toward a White House bid, as well as to collect email addresses and other information about supporters.
Showing early fundraising strength will be crucial for Cain.
Having never held elected office and building off of a loss in his only electoral contest, Cain must make the case to Republican primary voters not only that a less traditional presidential nominee is fit for the political moment, but also that he would be a viable challenger to Obama in the general election.
“This is a whole new paradigm - a new electoral process and electorate that we are dealing with today than we were even 2.5 years ago,” Block said, noting the rise of the tea party. “It’s almost better not to have been an elected official.”
But Herman Cain, the Atlanta businessman and one-time pizza king who announced his presidential candidacy Saturday, said he plans to alter the course of the election by appealing to grassroots voters and competing aggressively across the early state map. And he said he’s already looking beyond Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada and Florida.
“This day, this hour, this moment, I came here to declare my candidacy for the Republican nomination for president of the United States of America,” Cain told more than 10,000 supporters gathered in Atlanta’s Centennial Park.
“Let me say it again,” he said, raising his voice to a shout. “I’m running for president of the United States. I’m not running for second!”Cain delivered a rousing half-hour speech that touched on his childhood and adolescence in Atlanta, but quickly launched into a fiery critique of President Obama’s leadership.
“It’s time to get real. Hope and change ain’t working,” Cain said, turning around the “hope” meme that Obama used in 2008. “Hope and change is not a solution.”
Cain had his coming-out moment on stage with four of his likely rivals at the first political debate of the 2012 season, held May 5 in South Carolina. With A-list candidates like Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin on the sidelines, Cain wowed onlookers in that appearance, including a focus group convened by GOP pollster Frank Luntz.
The majority of those sitting in with Luntz said Cain had won them over with his “common sense solutions” and clear, concise delivery. “I’ve done maybe 35, 40 of these debates for Fox and I’ve never had the kind of reaction that we have tonight,” Luntz said. “Something very special happened this evening.”
“We knew that Mr. Cain would do well at the South Carolina debate, but didn’t anticipate the explosion in volunteers, donations and media requests that have since followed his performance,” said Mark Block, a Cain adviser and former Americans for Prosperity state director. “I think, quite frankly, we’ll see the same kind of bounce after his announcement on Saturday.”
With real estate mogul Donald Trump and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee taking a pass on 2012 — and Newt Gingrich’s clumsy entry into the race — Cain advisers say their candidate’s path to the nomination becomes more plausible.
“The things that [Gingrich] said about supporting parts of Obamacare and, quite frankly, trashing Congressman Paul Ryan have done nothing but help us,” Block said. “Some people who may have had a favorite son are now looking for somebody else to support. I think for the vast majority of those people, Herman Cain is where they’re ending up.”
Advisers to Cain don’t believe any one state is crucial to catapult him to “serious-candidate” status, saying instead that he must place among the top three in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“We’ve got to place in the top three to be a contender,” Block said. “We’re just going to keep to our game plan of getting him out to these key states. He’s our best asset, he sells himself.”
But advisers say he also plans to campaign aggressively outside the early-state map— citing Cain’s recent trip to Fargo, N.D. — to build grassroots support and boost fundraising.
Cain’s campaign will be structured on a model similar to Americans for Prosperity’s network, drawing from Block’s experience as the group’s Wisconsin state director. The campaign hub will be in Atlanta, but with semi-autonomous state branches.
“We’ll give overall strategic advice and let the states do what they know how to do best,” Block said. “Just like Mr. Cain says that he wants to move a lot of functions of the federal government down to the states, we’re going to practice what he preaches.”
Cain himself looked to sell that strategy to activists Wednesday, ahead of his announcement. On a conference call he said there has been a groundswell of grassroots momentum mounting behind his campaign, and that will be more important than a hefty warchest.“Barack Obama may be raising a billion dollars, but the people of this country are going to raise some Cain,” he said.
Cain has already begun building up his organization in first-in the nation Iowa, with a cadre of activists, and is expected to participate in this summer’s Iowa GOP straw poll in Ames.
The Atlanta businessman turned heads in a speech in the Hawkeye State alongside four of his likely rivals at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s presidential forum in March, where he and former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer garnered the most enthusiastic response from the influential group of Iowa conservatives. Weeks later, Iowa Republicans interviewed by POLITICO still recalled his speech as stirring.
“I’ve seen him talk at church services. I’ve seen him talk one-on-one with key business leaders and influential leaders. He’s the same wherever he speaks,” said Charlie Gruschow, a supporter of Cain’s Iowa effort and founder of the Des Moines Tea Party. “He can talk to people as people, not looking down at them as some politicians do.”
Cain, the lone black GOP presidential hopeful, addressed the issue of race head-on at his March Iowa speech, invoking one of the well-worn lines in his campaign arsenal.
“I am an American black conservative, an ABC, and I’m proud of it,” Cain said, drawing huge applause. He added that he hates being labled by others, and said “I’ve been called a racist too! Go figure, I haven’t figured that one out yet.”
Gruschow, who attended the Des Moines speech, said that’s just honesty. “That’s what people long for,” he said. “When he says he’s been called names — Uncle Tom, racist, Oreo — Herman has dealted with that. The issue that he brings out is ‘hey, we can think for ourselves.’”
Joni Scotter, a well-known Iowa GOP volunteer who describes herself as an “addict” praised Cain’s legwork in the state — he’s made 17 trips to the Hawkeye State.
“He’s come to Iowa, and that’s really important to Iowans. They really want to get nose-to-nose with each candidate, so it’s really important that they do keep coming in,” said 69 year-old-Scotter, who lives in Cedar Rapids.
Still, she said she was surprised by the rapt crowds that have taken to his rhetoric on race.
“Iowa elected Obama,” she said. “I’ve heard people cheer on that too and it surprises me. Here, it’s not even a second thought.”
“He’s polished. He’s right on the issues. His stance on the issues is in alignment with the average caucus-goers,” said Steve Scheffler, the prominent social conservative who heads the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition and is also the state’s RNC committeeman.
Polls bear out Cain’s dual-pronged challenge: Cain is the least well-known candidate in the Republican field, but generates the most enthusiastic response among those who are familiar with him, according to a Gallup poll out Wednesday.
In New Hampshire, where Cain has made nine trips — including at the first New Hampshire cattle call of presidential contenders that honored conservative kingmaker Ovide Lamontagne— Cain did not register in the WMUR Granite State poll released last month.
Wayne Jennings, a New Hampshire Republican who chairs the New Hampshire Cultural Diversity Awareness Council, says Cain isn’t seen as a strong contender, though audiences throughout the state have taken to his plain talk.“Herman Cain has some of the answers, but it’s going to take him a lot of money to build up a grassroots network, which he hasn’t done. It’s going to take a lot of money to run a strong campaign,” Jennings said.
After simultaneously announcing his candidacy with an Atlanta rally and social media campaign on Saturday, Cain will speak to members of the Council for National Policy, a coalition of top Christian conservative leaders, gathered for a conference in McLean, Va.
Advisers to Cain say the speech will likely focus on his personal history as a job creator, the economy, national security and energy.
Even as the candidate hosts a more traditional announcement than many of his likely rivals — Newt Gingrich announced his candidacy on Twitter and Facebook, while Tim Pawlenty has leaned heavily on web videos — advisers say his campaign will not be a traditional one.
“We don’t consider it a campaign anything like you’ve seen before,” Block said. “It will be heavy on what I call the new media, be it Facebook or Twitter.”
They want to pair technology with face-to-face meetings in order to engage and inspire local supporters.
“It’s obvious when people meet [Cain], they understand his leadership abilities and they become believers,” he said
Showing early fundraising strength will be crucial for Cain.
Having never held elected office and building off of a loss in his only electoral contest, Cain must make the case to Republican primary voters not only that a less traditional presidential nominee is fit for the political moment, but also that he would be a viable challenger to Obama in the general election.
“This is a whole new paradigm - a new electoral process and electorate that we are dealing with today than we were even 2.5 years ago,” Block said, noting the rise of the tea party. “It’s almost better not to have been an elected official.”
