Popular Republican candidate and business owner Herman Cain died Thursday after being hospitalized for Covid-19.
Cain, 74, was admitted to an Atlanta hospital on July 1.
His death was announced on his website and Facebook page.
“Herman Cain – our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us – has passed away,” the statement on his website said, noting there were “hopeful indicators” in recent days that he’d recover but adding: “And yet we also felt real concern about the fact that he never quite seemed to get to the point where the doctors could advance him to the recovery phase.”
Newsmax, which Cain recently joined, also posted an obituary confirming he died Thursday. Cain also was a Fox News contributor for years.
Former Cain staffer Ellen Carmichael tweeted Thursday morning: “I’m very saddened to learn of the passing of my former boss, Herman Cain. I’m bracing for the cruelty online about how he deserved to get COVID and die because of his politics. We’re living in a dark time. But, they didn’t know him. I did.”
Just days ago, Cain’s staff said in several tweets he was undergoing oxygen treatment but his organs and other systems were strong.
On Cain’s website today, staffer Dan Calabrese posted a note to Cain’s millions of fans:
Herman Cain – our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us – has passed away. He’s entering the presence of the Savior he’s served as an associate minister at Antioch Baptist Church in Atlanta, and preparing for his reward.
Romans 2:6-7 says: “God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.” By that measure, we expect the boss is in for some kind of welcome, because all of us who knew him are well aware of how much good he did.
Let me deal with some of the particulars of the last few weeks. We knew when he was first hospitalized with COVID-19 that this was going to be a rough fight. He had trouble breathing and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. We all prayed that the initial meds they gave him would get his breathing back to normal, but it became clear pretty quickly that he was in for a battle.
Cain was the co-chairman of Black Voices for Trump, attended a presidential rally in June. It is not known if he contracted coronavirus at the event or if he died from complications of colon cancer for which he had not yet passed the 5-year all clear milestone after original treatment.
Cain was diagnosed in 2006 with stage 4 colon cancer that metastasized to his liver and was given a 30 percent chance of survival. He underwent chemotherapy and had been in remission since.
Cain, who successfully steered food chains like Burger King and Godfather’s Pizza to profitability and served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, shot to prominence in 2012 when he launched a bid to be the Republican presidential nominee. While he had a strong following among Tea Party activists, his campaign was derailed when he was accused of sexual harassment and misconduct during his time as CEO of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s. The accusations were never followed through after he dropped out.
Cain first entered politics in 1996, when he was a senior adviser on Bob Dole’s presidential campaign.
Following his 2012 presidential bid, Cain launched T.H.E. New Voice, an advocacy group focused on tax reform, energy policy, and national security, and has become a frequent commentator on news outlets.
