Herman Cain, former presidential candidate, business executive, dies from coronavirus
Herman Cain gestures as he speaks during the Faith and Freedom Coalition Road to Majority 2013 conference, Saturday, June 15, 2013, in Washington.
(The Center Square) – Herman Cain, former presidential candidate and business executive, died Wednesday at 74 after a battle with COVID-19, according to a post on Cain’s Twitter page.
Cain, who sought the Republican nomination for U.S. president in 2011, was a Tea Party advocate and was once on President Donald Trump’s shortlist for the Federal Reserve Board.
“You’re never ready for the kind of news we are grappling with this morning. But we have no choice but to seek and find God’s strength and comfort to deal,” representatives for Cain said on Twitter.
Cain, a Georgia native, had been hospitalized in Atlanta since July 1 after being diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.
He leaves behind a wife, two children and a storied business career.
In the late 1980s and the 1990s, Cain served as the chairman of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Ohama Branch and the deputy chairman and chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
He has also served as the president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association and the CEO of Godfather’s Pizza.
Cain made traction during this presidential campaign because of his plan to replace federal tax code with a 9 percent business transaction tax, a 9 percent sales tax and a 9 percent personal income tax. His bid for the 2012 presidential race was cut short in 2011 after allegations of sexual misconduct.
On June 20, Cain tweeted a photo of himself and other members of Black Voices for Trump at Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The attendees pictured were not wearing masks. Organizers of the event said attendees were subject to temperature checks, and masks and hand sanitizer were provided.
