 WASHINGTON — One of the women who accused the Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment while working for him at the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s complained that the workplace turned hostile after she alleged that he made advances toward her during a work-related outing, several people familiar with her account at the time said in interviews. “I think [the charges against Cain are] mostly garbage that they throw at people who want to be president,” James Kindsch, from Middleton, Wis., said in a follow-up interview. “I don’t believe it,” said Paul Bradley from Fishersville, Va., adding: “The further in the past they happened, the less accurate they are.” 
 
 In the poll, a majority of Republicans — 55 percent — see reports of Cain’s alleged misconduct as “not a serious matter,” and 70 percent say the situation makes no difference in their vote. Rick Perry of Texas.
– Herman Cain’s sex-harassment allegations don’t seem to have taken much of a toll on his poll numbers. Some 23% of Republicans support Cain’s nomination, putting him in a virtual tie with Mitt Romney, who is at 24%, a Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. That's the best he's done in WaPo-ABC polls all year. What’s more, 70% of Republicans say the allegations won’t affect their vote, and 55% don’t see the charges as a "serious matter." That doesn’t mean Cain is out of the woods, however. Some 37% of Republicans and 42% of GOP-leaning independents call the scandal serious, and Republican women are twice as likely as men to agree that it could make them less likely to vote for Cain. Romney has a strong lead among those concerned about the allegations—details of which keep rolling in. Several sources have provided accounts of an accuser’s story to Politico and the New York Times; one says the woman felt “her job was at risk” if she rejected a suggestive comment from Cain. After she complained about Cain’s advances, she felt her work environment became hostile, the Times notes.