Republican Candidate Denies Harassment Claims

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has denied allegations he sexually harassed two women as a new poll puts him in the lead to secure the party's nomination.

It was claimed by the Politico website that Mr Cain had been sexually suggestive to at least two female employees when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

The women, who are not identified in the report, allegedly signed confidentiality agreements with the restaurant group to leave and say nothing in return for five-figure payouts.

The piece was based on anonymous sources and, in one case, what the publication said was a review of documentation that described the allegations and the resolution.

Mr Cain's campaign issued a vehement denial, describing them as "baseless" and said they amounted to unfair attacks.

Spokesman J D Gordon said: "Inside-the-Beltway media have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain.

"Dredging up thinly-sourced allegations stemming from Mr Cain's tenure as the chief executive officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumours that never stood up to the facts."

He added: "These are baseless allegations. To my knowledge, this is not an accurate story."

Politico said it had confronted Mr Cain himself on Sunday as he was leaving CBS News in Washington following an interview but that he refused to comment.

The former pizza company boss, a self-styled outsider who is relatively new to the national stage, is facing a new level of scrutiny after a burst of momentum in the race for the Republican nomination.

He has been steadily at or near the top of national surveys and polls in early presidential nominating states, competing with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Mr Cain has used his long record in business to argue that he has the credentials needed to be president at a time of such economic uncertainty.

A new poll conducted by the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune has him and Rick Perry essentially tied for the nomination - in a state where Mr Perry has been governor for 10 years.

Mr Cain is on 27% to Mr Perry's 26% overall but has a 13-point lead among the most conservative voters. He also did better than Mr Perry in rural areas and the suburbs.

However, Mr Perry was higher when the candidates were matched up to Barack Obama - with 45% backing him instead of the current president.

At the weekend, a new Iowa survey put Mr Cain in the lead among the Republican hopefuls with 23% support compared to Mr Romney on 22%.

The White House is still focusing on Mr Romney as the likely candidate and Mr Obama's campaign chief David Plouffe has been on the attack, claiming he lacks a political "core".

"You get the sense with Mitt Romney that... if he thought it was good to say the sky was green and the grass was blue to win an election, he'd say it," he said during an appearance on NBC on Sunday.