Ben Carson said Wednesday that he does not see a “political path forward” in the GOP nominating contest, all but assuring that he will formally drop out of the race despite assuring supporters that he will remain active moving forward.

The retired neurosurgeon’s next scheduled public appearance is a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday, where he said he will address his plans in further detail. He will not appear at Thursday night’s primary debate in Detroit, he said in a statement.