DUBUQUE, Iowa -- Herman Cain told The Huffington Post Tuesday that his wife, Gloria, did not have any problem with doing a TV interview the previous day.
"She didn't give me any grief about it because my wife knew I was telling the truth," said Cain, who had just spoken to about 200 people at a shopping mall here. "My wife knew I was telling the truth, so when she did that one-on-one, she was basically expressing herself. And I thought she did a fantastic job of saying how she felt."
Gloria Cain was interviewed by Fox News' Greta Van Susteren on Monday and defended her husband against accusations that he had sexually harassed women and, in one situation, groped a woman against her will. It was her first media interview during the Republican primary race; she has not campaigned with her husband either.
Interviews with Iowa voters showed a mix of attitudes toward Herman Cain.
Garry Piotrowski, a production supervisor at a nearby dairy plant, said the allegations have "had a minor effect on the way I feel about him."
But "I think his overall perception has taken a hit," said Piotrowski, who favors Newt Gingrich but said he thinks Mitt Romney will probably win the GOP primary.
"Do I think he has a chance? No," Piotrowski said of Cain. "I don't think he has a chance at all."
Stephen Potts, 54, a part-time public school teacher who is studying at Emmaus Bible College after losing his job in California a few years ago, said he still supports Cain.
"I don't believe them," Potts said of the sexual harassment allegations. "His wife is the whole story. She said they're all made up."
Mike Curtiss, 69, a retired John Deere middle manager, said he viewed the allegations with some "suspicion."
"That suspicion is what is holding his support up. I'm not sure that we know all the facts," Curtiss said.
Cain's "no-nonsense attitude toward financial responsibility" and his business experience appeal to Curtiss, who said he was considering Romney and Gingrich in addition to Cain.
