Boxes filled with more than 12,000 yard signs arrived at Herman Cain's South Carolina headquarters in Columbia on Tuesday and despite rumors that Cain might drop out of the presidential race, his campaign director said the signs would be put to good use.
"When I watched the news yesterday, it was all about reassessment," said William Head, Cain's South Carolina campaign director. "Reassessment has been a part of this whole campaign."
Head said the media took Cain's words out of context during a conference call Tuesday, which was intended for senior staff only but quickly leaked onto Twitter.
"The media has essentially taken that word and run with it to say that Mr. Cain is assessing whether he is going to drop out of the race or not," Head said. "When anything happens, whether it’s a Florida straw poll win or an Iowa event, we’re going to look at where we are and where we’re going, and that’s what the call was intended for."
Cain has faced a series of damaging accusations during recent weeks, first from them and most recently from a woman who claimed she had carried on a lengthy affair with the Georgia businessman.
Cain flatly denied the allegations and Head said that was good enough for him.
"I stand behind Mr. Cain," Head said. "He said, 'I just want you to know these allegations are false. I've known this lady, I've given money to this lady, however I'm telling you straight up, her allegations are false.'"
When asked whether he would still support Cain if the allegations we shown to be true, Head said he wouldn't speculate.
"I don't like to answer hypotheticals," he said. "I know that I stand behind Mr. Cain and I know what he's told me."
At , work continued on setting up a calling center and preparing for the final weeks leading up the the Jan. 21 primary. Head said he did not expect Cain to drop out of the race and that Cain would increase his South Carolina presence during the coming weeks.
"I know that we're in a good position and we have a pathway to win," Head said, despite . "Mr. Cain has not been in South Carolina very frequently recently and essentially the strategy going forward is that he will be in South Carolina a lot."
The first of those visits comes at 1:30 p.m. Friday, when Cain will speak during a town hall event at the Laurel Creek Magnolia Room in Rock Hill.
Despite the recent bumps in the road, Head said he was confident that Cain still had a solid base of supporters in South Carolina, and that those with concerns about his candidacy would be reassured once they could hear directly from him.
"We need to get the voters in the room to hear him," Head said. "They want to hear what he has to say [about the allegations]. Once they hear from him, hopefully they'll realize that he is still someone they should support."
