The doctor is (almost) out: Ben Carson sees no 'political path forward'
Ben Carson at the ABC GOP debate on Feb. 6, 2016.
After failing to win a single state on Super Tuesday, Ben Carson says he sees "no political path forward," and suggested that he would soon leave the race.
The retired neurosurgeon said in a statement that he will also skip this Thursday's Fox News debate. Carson hasn't officially suspended his campaign. However he said he will discuss his future during a speech on Friday at CPAC in Washington, D.C.
Over the past few weeks, Carson's presence hasn't been as big as it was in the beginning of his run. After getting little talk time during last week's Republican debate, Carson got a laugh from the crowd when he begged one of his rivals to berate him, if only so he could get some attention.
Carson's campaign was once promising. Last fall, he surged to the top of the Iowa polls, but ultimately finished a distant fourth in the state's Feb. 1 caucuses. He also had dismal finishes in New Hampshire and in South Carolina, where he had hoped evangelical voters would boost his chances.
Carson's campaign had been highly focused on Iowa, hoping to engage the same evangelical Christians and social conservatives that delivered victories for Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum in Iowa in 2008 and 2012. But ultimately, those voters seemed to flock to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who took first place in Iowa.
Carson, who rose to prominence after an impassioned speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2013, was also dragged down by claims that he hadembellished parts of his biography. He also faced withering scrutiny about his grasp of foreign policy.
Soon after, Carson's leadership team departed the campaign en masse, amid reports of misspent campaign funds. The death of a young Iowa volunteer in a crash on an Iowa road also seemed to shake Carson's campaign.
The retired neurosurgeon said in a statement that he will also skip this Thursday's Fox News debate. Carson hasn't officially suspended his campaign. However he said he will discuss his future during a speech on Friday at CPAC in Washington, D.C.
Over the past few weeks, Carson's presence hasn't been as big as it was in the beginning of his run. After getting little talk time during last week's Republican debate, Carson got a laugh from the crowd when he begged one of his rivals to berate him, if only so he could get some attention.
Carson's campaign was once promising. Last fall, he surged to the top of the Iowa polls, but ultimately finished a distant fourth in the state's Feb. 1 caucuses. He also had dismal finishes in New Hampshire and in South Carolina, where he had hoped evangelical voters would boost his chances.
Carson's campaign had been highly focused on Iowa, hoping to engage the same evangelical Christians and social conservatives that delivered victories for Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum in Iowa in 2008 and 2012. But ultimately, those voters seemed to flock to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who took first place in Iowa.
Carson, who rose to prominence after an impassioned speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2013, was also dragged down by claims that he hadembellished parts of his biography. He also faced withering scrutiny about his grasp of foreign policy.
Soon after, Carson's leadership team departed the campaign en masse, amid reports of misspent campaign funds. The death of a young Iowa volunteer in a crash on an Iowa road also seemed to shake Carson's campaign.
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