Former presidential candidate Herman Cain to speak at CMU next Tuesday

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain will speak at Plachta Auditorium in Warriner Hall on Sept. 25 as part of his countrywide "College Truth Tour."

Cain will give a speech in front of audience members and take questions from the crowd. Cain will be accompanied at the event by a band and will speak following a Mount Pleasant business owner yet to be named, said Megan Gill, chairwoman of the College Republicans at Central Michigan University.

The event was pulled together by the CMU College Republicans, with the help of the Michigan Federation of College Republicans, Gill said.

"We're excited," said Gill, who will introduce Cain at the event. "Even though he's not running anymore, anytime you get a big name like Herman Cain to come to CMU, I think it really shows Michigan is going to be a key part of this election."

Gill said many of the College Republicans will volunteer for the event.

"They'll mainly be in charge of doing check-ins for the most part," Gill said. "We'll be there for anything else they might need, though, including helping out with the Q & A."

Tickets for the 6 p.m. event are free. Those who wish to attend can either register online on Cain's website, collegetruthtour.com, or at the door.

Cain will speak at two other Michigan universities in the days following his CMU stop. He will speak at Michigan State University on Sept. 26 and the University of Michigan on Sept. 27.

Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, made a splash in the hectic 2012 Republican primary season.

He became a Tea Party favorite after unveiling his 9-9-9 tax plan last fall. The plan would require citizens to pay nine percent in business transaction taxes, income taxes and federal sales taxes.

For much of the fall, Cain ran neck-and-neck with current Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the national polls after starting his campaign off as a dark horse, briefly becoming the front-runner in late October and early November.

Around that same time, reports of four women accusing Cain of sexual harassment and misconduct began to surface. Another woman, Ginger White, came forward in late November alleging she had a 13-year affair with Cain.

Cain denied all of the allegations, but later "suspended" his campaign in early December after his poll numbers dropped dramatically, in large part due to the controversy.

His 30-day bus tour, launched earlier this month, features three events per day, each aimed at different groups. According to the tour's website, the morning breakfast events are aimed at "Faith-Based and Community Leaders," the lunch events focus on "Job Creators and Business Leaders," and the College Truth Tour wraps up the day.

The college tour focuses on problems facing college students in a struggling economy and Cain's solutions to them. The website does not brand the tour as a speech, but rather as a "fun, educational event"