ATLANTA - US Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain effectively ended his 2012 White House race on Saturday, saying "false and unproved" sexual accusations have made it impossible for him to carry on a credible campaign.Cain's conservative supporters will have to find a new home with voting to start next month in the race to determine the Republican's presidential nominee for 2012.RELATED:Opinion: Republican presidential candidates on IsraelPoll shows Israeli approval for Obama is upCain's departure shapes the Republican race more clearly as a matchup between former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and surging rival Newt Gingrich.var ord = window.ord || Math.floor(Math.random() * 1e16);document.write('');Former Godfather's Pizza chief executive Cain said in his home town of Atlanta that he was suspending his White House bid after a Friday night meeting with his wife, Gloria, who appeared at his side and smiled throughout. Cain said a "cloud of doubt" had settled over his campaign. He insisted that accusations that he sexually harassed several women and had a 13-year affair with an Atlanta businesswoman were simply not true. "I am suspending my campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt," said the 65-year-old. He said he would endorse a Republican rival. All evidence pointed to a campaign facing severe financial woes and credibility problems even if Cain had decided to stay in. After jumping into the front-runner position two months ago, Cain has been in a free fall in the past month and his support in Iowa, which holds the first US nominating contest on Jan. 3, stands at 8 percent. Cain spoke of having made mistakes but did not elaborate. His campaign has also suffered from several stumbles that included a long pause when he tried to answer a routine question about Libya. "I've made mistakes professionally, personally, as a candidate, in terms of how I run my campaign. And I take responsibility for the mistakes that I've made. And I've been the very first to own up to any mistakes I've made," Cain said.
