MANCHESTER, N.H. — Regardless of how many delegates he wins in primaries and caucuses, Ben Carson plans to stay in the race for the president up until at least the Republican National Convention, a top aide said on Saturday.
“Just so there’s nobody mistaken, Ben Carson is in it for the long haul,” Bob Dees, the chairman of the Carson campaign, said in an interview with The Daily Caller ahead of Saturday’s debate at Saint Anselm College. “We expect to be standing in Cleveland — one form or another.”
“We’ve tooled our campaign and our finances and our staff to stay the course, so we’re confident in that,” he said.
Carson was likely hurt in the Iowa caucuses by rumors — fueled by some in [crscore]Ted Cruz[/crscore]’s campaign — that he was likely dropping out of the race. Some candidates — like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Kentucky Sen. [crscore]Rand Paul[/crscore] — withdrew from the race after Iowa.
Carson came in fourth place in Iowa.
Dees acknowledged that the campaign is cutting staff, but argued they are in a better position today.
“There’s a false narrative that some of our staff changes and things have hurt,” Dees said. “In reality, we are much leaner now. We’re much more efficient. We have the right people in the right seats on the bus.”
“We’re confident that overtime, as the American people listen, and as other candidates run a confessional so to speak, and demonstrate lack of character at times, then we think we’ll bubble to the top,” he said.