Herman Cain called a news conference this afternoon to face sexual harassment allegations head-on.

He insists he never sexually harassed and says he's staying in the presidential race.

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is going on the offensive.

“The charges and accusations I absolutely reject. They simply didn’t happen,” says Cain.

He's fighting back against allegations from Sharon Bialek.

The Chicago woman accuses him of making an unwanted sexual advance towards her, in 1997.

"I wanted to be the voice and the face for those women who couldn't or wouldn't come forward," says Sharon Bialek.

Tuesday Cain's campaign put out a news release titled "Who is Sharon Bialek?" questioning her credibility.

“Now the democrat machine in America has brought forth a troubled woman to make false accusations,” says Cain.

Cain has been battling allegations of sexual harassment and improper behavior for more than a week.

It's thrown his campaign off message and he's tried to tell reporters several times, he's done talking about the issue."

He said he's willing to take a lie detector test and will stay in the race.

“As far as these accusations causing me to back off? Ain’t going to happen, ” says Cain.

The controversy began with two anonymous women who said, Cain behaved improperly towards them when he headed the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

They each reached a confidential settlement with the organization.

The news release from Cain's campaign questions whether Bialek is making money on her accusations.

But her attorney, Gloria Allred, says Bialek has received no compensation, and Allred is representing her at no cost.