Updated: 3:35 p.m.

Presidential hopeful Herman Cain is suspending his campaign for the Republican nomination.

“As of today with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign,” Cain said.

The news comes after yet another scandal-plagued week for the candidate. On Monday, an Atlanta woman alleged that she and Cain had carried on a 13-year affair. Cain has said the woman was only a friend and that he gave her financial assistance.

The announcement was made at an event that was supposed to be the opening of his national campaign headquarters in Atlanta. Cain lashed out at the media throughout the speech and repeatedly called the allegations – including accusations of sexual harassment – against him “false and unproved.” He went on to say that they “have sidetracked and distracted my ability to present solutions to the American people.”

With his wife by his side, Cain described how the accusations were “a painful price” for his family to pay. At times before and during the speech, the crowd chanted his wife Gloria’s name.

“I am at peace with my God. I am at peace with my wife, and she is at peace with me,” Cain said. “I am at peace with my family, and I am at peace with myself.”

Cain described future plans to push his 9-9-9 tax plan and other policies. “I am not going to be silenced, and I’m not going away,” he said. He also said he intended to make an endorsement in the GOP field.

Early in the presidential cycle, the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO and Atlanta-area radio talk show host was considered a long shot to nab the GOP nod.

In the fall, he began to gain traction, and by October, he was the party’s frontrunner in some polls.

But when accusations of sexual harassment began to dog the candidate, he began to tank in the polls. Cain denied the charges.