It wasn’t until Herman Cain was polling 20 points ahead of Romney that sexual allegations against Cain came out.
A quick note about Herman - I saw him speak at a local GOP fundraiser in June or July of 2015, very early in the 2016 primary season. His words at that time were, paraphrasing from memory, watch Trump, I think hes going a lot further than anyone would expect.
I really, really wish I had video of that event.
I was a big (for me, anyway) contributor to Hermans campaign in 2012. I still think what was done to him was a huge pile of poo.
The MSM certainly didn't want a black person to be the nominee of the Republican party because it would ruin their narrative. But remind me, did Cain admit to anything or deny the rumors? And what was it he was supposed to have done? I've forgotten.