Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill would back Ben Carson if he wins the GOP presidential nomination.
Carson has overtaken billionaire Donald Trump in some polls, and congressional Republicans said Tuesday that they would support the new front-runner if he secured the nomination next spring.
A day before Carson and the rest of the GOP field is set to debate for a third time, in Boulder, Colo., nearly every member of Congress who spoke to the Washington Examiner said Carson could count on them for support.
“I’m going to support whoever’s the GOP nominee, and I know Ben Carson and I like him,” said Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, the Republican Conference’s vice chairman.
In the past week, Carson, a world-renowned surgeon but political novice, has usurped Trump’s lead in Iowa, with four separate polls showing him ahead. Trump was also seen trailing Carson in the latest CBS/New York Times national poll released Tuesday. It is first time Trump has not led the field since July.
Blunt’s comments were mirrored by three other senators when asked whether they would get behind Carson as the nominee if he won it. Sens. Pat Roberts, Tom Cotton and John Barrasso, who serves as the GOP’s Policy Committee chair in leadership, all answered in the affirmative.
Meanwhile, in the lower chamber, Iowa Rep. Steve King agreed, adding that he is focused on continuing to introduce candidates to voters in his home state ahead of the first-in-the-nation caucuses there in February.
“I will support the GOP nominee,” King said, adding that he hasn’t made an endorsement in the race yet. “I’m watching each of the candidates and I’m doing my best to work with them and help them get their wares out there and show them to Iowans.”
When asked about Carson’s statement to The Hill Tuesday that he would not support a budget bill that involves raising the debt ceiling, King said that he wasn’t aware of the comments, before adding “I don’t agree with it either.”
A pair of Jeb Bush supporters in the House spoke highly of Carson but were skeptical that he would have the staying power to win the nomination.
“Oh, of course, yeah. I still think Jeb is going to pull it out. I don’t see Carson becoming the nominee. He’s a great guy,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill, said. The Illinois Congressman warned, however, that Carson’s statement on not raising the debt ceiling is not feasible without a “miracle plan.”
“Look, unless he has a miracle plan, and if he does have that miracle plan that we’ll never be up against the debt limit again, hopefully he puts that out too so he can make that statement, and then put out his plan,” Kinzinger said. “I hope there’s more than words. It’s one thing to just say something for political digestion, but it’s another thing to follow through.”
“That would be great if he never has to do it,” Kinzinger said. “Hopefully he’ll follow that up with a plan to show how.”
Rep. Pete Sessions seconded Kinzinger’s skepticism, and the Texas congressman also would not commit to backing Carson if he emerged victorious in from the primaries.
“I have been in the room a couple of times with Dr. Carson. I think he’s intellectually courageous and offers a longterm vision for the United States, and I think he is a kind and gracious man. And we’ll see how he fairs as the front-runner,” said Sessions, who serves as chairman of the House Committee on Rules. “Front-runners last about six weeks in this business. I like him.”
The only House member who refused to comment on Carson or the 2016 race was Pennslyvania Rep. Tim Murphy, who said that he hadn’t dealt with anything 2016-related before adding, “I don’t know.”
