As political junkies and Republican presidential hopefuls know, how well a candidate performs in early primary and caucus states like New Hampshire, South Carolina and Iowa can make or break a campaign. The bad news for Herman Cain is that, on the heels of recent resignations by his Iowa organizational director and straw poll director and his New Hampshire coordinator, he faced another defection from yet another Iowa key staffer on Tuesday. Their reasons for leaving reportedly center on the candidate’s alleged unwillingness to make the necessary financial investment to be competitive in those states.

In addition, volunteers “who worked hard for five months are all leaving the campaign,” one Iowa volunteer told Politico, which also reports that there have been “swirling rumors between staff and volunteers in the Hawkeye State accusing each other of affairs, homosexuality and professional misconduct.” But campaign spokeswoman Ellen Carmichael contends that they’re just rumors and said the staff issue isn’t a “Newt Gingrich situation,” referring to the former House speaker’s campaign staff mutiny last month.

Charlie Gruschow, founder of the Des Moines Tea Party and the latest staffer to quit, told Politico that his heart was no longer in the campaign, he felt “disappointed in some of the decisions that were made and some of the comments that were made by others” and that the campaign had become “just too messy.”

(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty)