Former neurosurgen Ben Carson says he’s “in” the presidential race. Carson announced his run in a TV interview Sunday evening, with a more formal announcement Monday in Detroit, his hometown. Here’s Carson announcing the run on Twitter:
I’m in it!
— Ben & Candy Carson (@RealBenCarson) May 4, 2015
“I’m willing to be part of the equation and therefore, I’m announcing my candidacy for President of the United States of America,” Carson told Cincinnati’s WKRC Sunday.
Long an important figure among African Americans and an accomplished neurosurgeon, Carson burst onto the political scene at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast when he delivered an address sharply criticizing President Barack Obama, who was in attendance.
Earlier this year, Fred Barnes assessed Carson’s forthcoming candidacy for president in THE WEEKLY STANDARD. Here’s an excerpt:
That candidate is Ben Carson, the African-American conservative and retired brain surgeon. His White House bid is not a lark. It only seems that way. Carson was more active in 2014 than any other potential Republican candidate. Now he is set to create a presidential exploratory committee and announce his candidacy sometime before May 1.
Candidates like Carson from the outskirts of electoral politics, who’ve never before run for office, are routinely dismissed as dreamers. They’re bucking history. They’re bound to wash out after the first caucus and primary, if not earlier. And in choosing Terry Giles, a Houston businessman with no political experience, as his campaign chairman, Carson only added to skepticism about his candidacy.
But Carson, 63, is no Herman Cain, the Georgia businessman who ran for the GOP nomination in 2012. Cain flew solo, without a campaign organization. His candidacy went nowhere. Carson is different. He has substantial name identification. He can raise money. His poverty-to-prominence story is compelling. He has a grassroots following. He is fluent on national issues.
Read the whole thing here.
