Manchester, New Hampshire (CNN) - New Hampshire Republican officials who supported Herman Cain's presidential run began to survey their options Saturday after Cain suspended his efforts, with several state representatives saying their support could go to Newt Gingrich or Ron Paul.
Cain ended his run for the White House on Saturday, saying he would focus instead on his family and on promoting his economic proposals from outside Washington. Cain visited New Hampshire three times over the past four months, and had four paid staffers and two campaign offices in the state.
Many of the legislators who had endorsed Cain in the nation's first primary contest told CNN Saturday that they were disappointed, but said Cain had made the right decision for his wife and children.
"I think he needs to focus on taking care of his family," said State Rep. Mike Ball, who said he is now considering supporting Paul, the Texas congressman, Gingrich, the former House Speaker, or former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
"They all have certain things that recommend them," Ball said. "As Herman Cain liked to say, he was reassessing things, and that's what I'm doing now. I'm reassessing."
State Rep. Sam Cataldo said he would support Gingrich.
"He knows Washington. That's a really important thing," Cataldo said.
Gingrich's experience in Washington, however, was a drawback for State Rep. Kevin Reichard, who said his vote would now go to Paul.
"Newt Gingrich to me is part of the establishment," Reichard said, adding Paul seemed closest to Cain in philosophy. "[Cain] was an outsider and he was a conservative, and Ron Paul seems to fit into that mold."
Cain's most prominent supporter in New Hampshire, former GOP state party chair Jack Kimball, said he would wait to learn who Cain would endorse before making his own decision. Kimball expects Cain's endorsement to come within days.
But some Cain supporters weren't planning to wait, Kimball said. After news broke that a woman told an Atlanta news station she had had a 13-year affair with Cain, Kimball said he heard from several Cain backers who were dropping their support.
"Virtually all of the ones who switched and decided to leave the campaign went to Newt," Kimball said.
One other Cain supporter, State Rep. Steven Smith, said he could not back any candidate other than Cain. He said he was discouraged that every other candidate had discussed passing bills to turn the country around.
"Herman Cain was the only one of the GOP candidates who said, 'you present the idea to the people and they will drive through the change,'" he said.
. I do think Paul will pick up a small percentage of Cain's supporters especially if people use their head and eyes to see that he is polling second or third in different polls.
