Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon, suggested today that he will likely drop out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination after earning little support in the first primaries. He will not participate in the Republican debate on Thursday.
Carson issued a statement to his supporters on his website, where he confirmed that he will not be on stage during the Fox News debate in Detroit. While he didn’t officially say that he is dropping out, the statement made it sounds like he has realized that he has little chance of getting the nomination.
“I do not see a political path forward in light of last evening’s Super Tuesday primary results, “ Carson wrote. “However, this grassroots movement on behalf of “We the People” will continue.”
Carson said that his decision wasn’t “constrained by finances” but “rather by what is in the best interests of the American people.”
Carson added that he will give more details about his future during a speech at CPAC in Washington DC Friday.
Before the primaries began this year, Carson was briefly leading polls, but his lack of foreign policy experience became obvious during debates. He went on to fail to win any states and did not do well on Super Tuesday.
Donald Trump won the majority of states on March 1, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz winning two and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio winning one. Trump leads both in the delegate count with 285 of the 1,237 needed for the GOP nomination.