NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Dr. Ben Carson officially declared an end to this presidential campaign Friday, in a roomful of conservative activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland.
“I’m leaving the campaign trail,” Carson quickly said in the middle of a speech about how to fix America. His offhand remarks drew applause and cheers from the audience. Earlier in the address, he called his presidential run “an experience I’ll never forget.”
“I did the math,” Carson told attendees. “I looked at the delegate counts. I looked at the states. I looked at the requirements, and I realized it simply wasn’t going to happen.”
Speaking to reporters after his address, Carson said he made his decision on Super Tuesday after the results did not materialize in his favor. The former neurosurgeon did not crack third place in any of the 11 states that handed out delegates on Super Tuesday.
“When I saw the results coming in, I realized that things probably were not going to change. And therefore, I said, what really is the point,” Carson said.
He also declined to endorse any of the four candidates remaining in the GOP race. Rather, he pointed his supporters to examine, primarily, the accomplishments and policies of the foursome in the GOP field.
Notably, Carson broke with the vocal and outspoken group of Republicans heading up the #NeverTrump movement, telling reporters afterwards that supporting a potential third party conservative candidate over the real estate mogul would be a “huge mistake.” He argued that any such move would, in essence, give the Democrats a third term in office.
“I think that would be a huge mistake. That would hand the election to the Democrats,” Carson said.
Carson had admitted that he did not see a path forward before announcing that he is giving way, which makes the GOP primary contest a four-man race.
The former neurosurgeon had previously said that he would be addressing his political future at the event after telling supporters in an email Wednesday that he would not be attending Thursday night’s Republican debate in Detroit, the city where he started his presidential bid.
Earlier in the week, Carson’s campaign admitted prior to the Super Tuesday primaries that he “clearly” did not have a path to the nomination. Campaign Chairman Bob Dees told the Washington Examiner that the operation did not have a “well-defined path” to the nomination.
“Well, we clearly don’t know. We don’t have a well-defined path to victory,” Dees told the Examiner in an interview. “But we think the opportunity still exists for people to wake up and that’s what we’re hoping.”
Carson was joined at the event by his family, with his wife, Candy Carson, and sons on hand for the announcement.
