Republican candidate Herman Cain says he's suspending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination to avoid news coverage that is hurtful to his family.

Cain's announcement came five days after an Atlanta-area woman claimed she and Cain had an affair for more than a decade, a claim that followed several allegations of sexual harassment against the Georgia businessman. Cain, whose wife stood behind him on the stage, made the announcement before several hundred supporters gathered at what was to have been the opening of his national campaign headquarters.

Cain had surged in polls until news surfaced in late October that he had been accused of sexual harassment by two women during his time as president of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

Fellow Georgian Newt Gingrich is praising Cain for bringing optimism and big ideas to the 2012 campaign.

Gingrich, a former House speaker, made his comments at a tea party rally on New York's Staten Island, not long after Cain said he was suspending his campaign.

Polls show that Gingrich's candidacy has surged in recent weeks, with many showing him topping the Republican field.

Gingrich refused to say the race has come down to a two-man contest with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney just a month before the first vote, in Iowa.

Gingrich says any of the Republicans could rebound before the Iowa caucuses, just as he did after his campaign almost collapsed last summer.

Tags: Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, election 2012, presidential race