Talk radio host and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain has launched a presidential exploratory committee, making him the first official candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

The odds may be against him in a field of well-known candidates like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, but Cain says he has what it takes to win the presidency.

“People who say that Herman Cain has no chance of winning the nomination for the Republican Party or win the in presidency – I simply say thank you,” Cain told CNN in an interview. “Because all my life I have been in situations where I wasn’t supposed to become VP of Pillsbury, I wasn’t supposed to be able to turn Godfather’s Pizza around. I wasn’t supposed to succeed in climbing the corporate ladder in corporate America. So to the people who say I don’t have a chance I say, thank you. Because that inspires me.”

The Daily Caller previously reported that Cain was “definitely” forming a presidential committee. “Prediction: Herman Cain is going to have some serious legs when he begins visiting Iowa,” said Tim Albrecht, communications director for Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, on Twitter.

Cain is now soliciting donations on his website. “Fellow patriots, now more than ever, we must come together to take a stand for the future of America,” reads a statement on Cain’s site. “I make this promise to you as I deliberate the ways in which I can do my part to restore and protect the American Dream: I would be the voice of the American People. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. I ask you to do the same for me.”

In 2004, Cain ran for the Georgia Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Zell Miller. He finished second in the Republican primary to Johnny Isakson, who went on the win the general election.