Dr. Ben Carson, the neurosurgeon who has gained a substantial following among conservative Republicans despite having never run for office, is in no hurry to announce a bid for president.
In an interview with C-SPAN on Monday, Carson said he “will have made a decision by May 1.”
Carson has made no secret of his desire to potentially run for president, and he has been methodically expanding his networks in the key states of Iowa and New Hampshire to lay the groundwork for such a bid. In Iowa in particular, Carson has polled strongly in early public surveys.
But he is still a relative political unknown, and some Republicans worry that he would prove too controversial a candidate. In past remarks, Carson has praised the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria for being “willing to die for what they believe,” and said Obamacare is “the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery.”
In his interview Monday, Carson expressed confidence that his views would “become very clear to people when we get to the debates and they get to actually hear real solutions and real logic.”
“I don’t really care how many people are running,” Carson added, “because I believe if we have an open-type primary people will see what’s going on.”
