Politics

EXCLUSIVE: Carson Making Major Presidential Announcement Very Soon

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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Neurosurgeon Ben Carson is expected to announce soon that he is forming an exploratory committee to run for the White House as a Republican in 2016, The Daily Caller has learned.

Terry Giles, a longtime friend and adviser of Carson’s who would serve as chairman of the presidential campaign, told TheDC on Thursday: “I fully expect in three or four weeks to announce our exploratory committee.”

A formal announcement about entering the presidential contest would likely follow sometime before May, Giles said. “It won’t be later than May 1st. And whether it’s sooner than that will depend on circumstances.”

Giles has been spending the last several months interviewing potential staff in case Carson decides to run.

“It’s really going great,” he said. “I’m very pleased with where it is.”

Carson has never run for office before, and his potential presidential bid is seen as a long-shot. But the former director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital has become a favorite of the conservative base, routinely placing at the top of presidential preference polls.

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Alex Pappas