[10][11] Following the 2010 midterm elections, Cain announced his intentions to run for president in December 2010, stating that there is a 70% chance that he would attempt to seek the office.

[16] The same month, Cain finished seventh out of twenty-one candidates in the New Hampshire Straw Poll, gaining four percent of the vote of a group of state Republican Party members.

Cain was declared the overwhelming winner by pollster Frank Luntz after a show of hands among 29 debate witnesses who were chosen by Fox to act as a post-performance focus group.

I spent less money, had less name ID than the front runners, but our strong showing is evidence of the deep support for a non-politician problem solver who has the courage and conviction to change the way things work in Washington.

[24][25] A national interactive opinion survey released in September 2011 by IBOPE Zogby International showed Cain with a ten-point lead against the nearest competitor, Rick Perry, among likely 2012 Republican primary voters.

"[27] On September 24, 2011, Cain won a surprise victory in a Republican presidential straw poll in Florida, with 37 percent of the 2,657 votes cast.

[31] A Fox News poll administered on October 23–25, showed Cain as the front-runner receiving 24%, and Mitt Romney coming in at second place with 20%.

[35] A national poll conducted by CNN and ORC International showed Cain falling 11% among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, as compared to the previous month.

[44] In October 2011, Politico reported that two female employees had complained about inappropriate behavior by Cain during his tenure at the National Restaurant Association.

Wood warned that any other women coming forward with allegations would face intense scrutiny and might also be subject to legal action, but said he did not intend to scare anyone away from doing so.

According to Cain, one of the specific allegations was making a gesture indicating his wife's height by holding his palm flat, which one of the accusers found objectionable.

[53][54] Joel Bennett, the lawyer representing Kraushaar, called Cain's version of events "goofy", stating that his "client would never have filed a complaint of sexual harassment on the basis that she was the same height as his wife.

[59] According to The New York Times and Bloomberg News, at a November 7, 2011, press conference, a fourth woman, registered Republican Sharon Bialek, made allegations of a sexual assault in Cain's car in the summer of 1997.

She alleged that, following a dinner meeting to discuss her job search, Cain reached under the skirt of her suit for her genitals and pushed her head toward his crotch.

It is now time to do so, not only because the false accusations have received renewed attention with the publication of a book that discusses them, but more importantly because I refuse to live my life, pursue my radio and professional career or do anything else that God has left for me to do in this world with a dark cloud attached to my reputation that is not consistent with the truth."

[73] Grover Norquist has questioned Cain's plan on the basis of adding a federal sales tax will allow for future increases in it.

[78] However conservatives Arthur Laffer,[79] Lawrence Kudlow,[80] the Club for Growth,[81] and Congressman Paul Ryan[82] have spoken favorably of the plan.

[89] Cain maintained support for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bank bailouts of 2008[90] "without regrets", though criticizing the "picking of winners and losers" in its implementation.

[110] In a subsequent interview with Fox News contributor KT McFarland, he said he thinks that only military action could stop the Iranian nuclear program, but that he would "have to talk to a lot of people" before he would consider that step.

"[112] In an October 8, 2011, interview with Christian Broadcasting Network's (CBN) David Brody, Cain was asked about the raised level of scrutiny received by presidential candidates and how he would answer a "gotcha" question "like who's the president of Uzbekistan?"

"[113] Cain was later criticized for his seeming ignorance and mocking of a country that both presidents Bush and Obama have sought to use as a supply base in the Afghan war.

"[119] On November 14, 2011, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Cain "stumbled badly" in an interview with the paper's editors when he was unable to recall exactly why he disagreed with Obama's handling of the Libyan crisis.

[126] Cain favored allowing the free market to play the largest role in health care[127] and strongly supported the 2011 Ryan budget plan's "voucher program" to privatize Medicare.

[129][130] On October 15, 2011, Cain proposed to build an electrified fence on the Mexico–United States border that could kill people trying to enter the country illegally.

[125] He made statements indicating a belief that anthropogenic global warming is a hoax, referring to it as "poppycock" and claimed that scientists were "busted" of having "manipulated the data".

He further stated, "I don't have facts to back this up, but I happen to believe that these demonstrations are planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the Obama administration.

[138][139] He criticized a court case – overturned on appeal – in which a judge used a husband's Muslim religious beliefs as a basis for not granting the man's wife a restraining order against him,[139] and has argued in favor of allowing communities to ban the construction of mosques, expressing concerns about "people who might be terrorists".

His seemingly contradictory statements alarmed anti-abortion activists and other social conservatives, who accused Cain of echoing pro-choice reasoning and questioned his dedication to outlawing abortion.

[151][152] Cain faced criticism regarding his lack of foreign policy experience and stumbled early in the campaign when answering a question regarding the Palestinian right of return as he appeared unfamiliar with the issue and staff were forced to later clarify his position.

MSNBC found that Cain was spending more time on a book tour than in Iowa, predicting that he was more interested in raising his public image than winning the presidency.