Cain Could Back Gingrich For President, Or Hold His Powder

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain may make an endorsement as early as Monday, and a source told MyFoxAtlanta that it will be of former House speaker and fellow Georgian Newt Gingrich, though Cain's campaign denies an announcement is imminent.

The source says Cain is preparing to make the announcement Monday, but the details of the formal announcement are still being worked out. 

But Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon knocked down that report in a statement to Fox News, saying Cain is actually keeping his original campaign schedule -- attending an Oklahoma City fundraiser, and will will shoot some videos to accompany an energy policy rollout that Gordon said Cain plans to unveil soon.

Cain announced Saturday that he was suspending his campaign for the White House after coming under continuing scrutiny amid allegations of sexual harassment and an affair.

"These false and unproved allegations continue to be spinned in the media and in the court of public opinion so as to create a cloud of doubt over me and this campaign and my family," he told supporters in Atlanta.

Other Republican candidates have been scrambling to woo his supporters to their cause following the news.

Gingrich told reporters he had held a private conversation with Cain on Saturday and he later released a statement calling him a "powerful voice in the conservative movement" who "elevated the dialogue of the Republican presidential primary."

But Gingrich said he does not "anticipate" a Cain endorsement. 

"Herman Cain has got to make up his own mind," Gingrich said. I hope to meet with him sometime next week. I expect he'll meet with all the candidates, and talk through what he intends to do with his new organization." 

Gingrich is also holding a press conference Monday afternoon in New York, following a meeting with Donald Trump. Trump told Fox News on Monday that he's "probably" going to endorse somebody before the nominating season begins with the Jan. 3 caucuses in Iowa.

A Cain endorsement would offer Gingrich a big boost after the former House speak surged in significant polls over the weekend.

An NBC News-Marist College poll released Sunday found Gingrich had moved into second place in the key primary state of New Hampshire, with 23 percent support among likely Republican primary voters -- a significant jump from his 4 percent showing in a similar poll conducted in October.

A Des Moines Register's third Iowa Poll released Saturday night showed Gingrich was a clear-cut winner, scoring 25 percent, ahead of Texas Rep. Ron with 18 percent and Romney with 16 percent.

But Gingrich also has a fair number of detractors in Washington. Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn said he is "not inclined" to be a Gingrich backer after having served under Gingrich for four years immediately after the Republican Revolution of 1994.

Coburn is one of many Republican lawmakers and former lawmakers who've said he is not a Gingrich fan. Notably, Gingrich has six congressional endorsements compared to longtime candidate Mitt Romney, who has about 50.

The former Massachusetts governor continues to hold a substantial lead, with 39 percent, in New Hampshire, according to the NBC News-Marist poll, though his support has dropped from 45 percent in October.