Former Cain Spokeswoman Takes Job With Idaho Congressman

The former spokeswoman for Herman Cain's presidential campaign has taken a job with a freshman congressman from Idaho. Republican Representative Raúl Labrador announced Tuesday he's hired Ellen Carmichael to be his communications director.

Ellen Carmichael said in a statement she welcomed the opportunity to work in Washington, D.C. for what she called an "unwavering conservative." Congressman Labrador represents Idaho's 1st district, which spans the entire length of the state's western flank.

Carmichael was most recently the chief spokeswoman and communications director for GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain. Here she is speaking on the campaign's online "CainCast" before the Republican presidential debate in Tampa, Florida.

"The 9-9-9 plan is really picking up steam, we're seeing it all over the Internet, folks are really growing to embrace the plan."

But just as Cain's poll numbers surged last month, Carmichael left the campaign.

The former spokeswoman said she was too busy in her new job for an interview. But she told the Idaho Statesman's politics blog that her departure from the campaign had nothing to do with recent allegations of sexual harassment against Cain. Those allegations, which date back to the late '90s, were made public this weekend.

Copyright 2011 Northwest News Network

On the Web:

Idaho Statesman politics blog post

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2011/11/01/idahopolitics/idahos_labrador_hires_cains_exspokewoman_she_says_shift_unrelate

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