Herman Cain Dead At 74: Former GOP Presidential Candidate Had Been Hospitalized For COVID-19

Herman Cain, the former 2012 Republican Presidential candidate and restaurant executive, has passed away at 74 after a battle with COVID-19. The news was confirmed on Cain’s website by colleague Dan Calabrese on Thursday, following nearly a month-long hospitalization. Cain is amongst the most well-known public figures to die from the novel coronavirus.

“Herman Cain – our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us – has passed away,” Calabrese wrote.

Cain was hospitalized for COVID-19 on July 1, only days after testing positive for the virus. A noted supporter of President Trump, Cain attended Trump's Tulsa rally only two weeks before his diagnosis. The rally had been criticized for gathering so many people at once without enforcing the use of face masks.

In the days following the diagnosis, Can was reported to be “awake and alert” and “making progress. On July 10, his official Twitter account said that he was improving steadily. Having beaten Stage IV colon cancer in 2006, Cain would have been considered high-risk for coronavirus.

Cain received his Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Purdue University in 1971, following a period of working as a civilian ballistics analyst for the Department of the Navy. He later managed 400 Burger King locations in Philadelphia and, in 1986, accepted the position of CEO at Godfather’s Pizza.

Cain served as chairman of the board for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City at the Omaha, Nebraska, branch from 1989 to 1991. After leaving Godfather’s in 1996, he joined the National Restaurant Association, a lobbying group, as CEO until 1999.

Cain is perhaps best known for his Republican Presidential candidacy in 2011. Despite being perceived as likable by voters and having a tax reform plan that was well-received by GOP leaders, Cain dropped out of the race in Dec. 2011 and endorsed Mitt Romney, who went on to lose the general election in 2012 to incumbent Barack Obama. Mere weeks before suspending his campaign, Cain was accused of having an affair with a woman named Ginger White, which he denied.

Cain was briefly considered by President Trump as a candidate for the Federal Reserve Board in 2019.