'A lot of people love me, they just won't vote for me': Ben Carson formally quits White House race - and WON'T endorse anyone else (yet)
About 13 minutes into his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson finally said he was leaving the presidential race.
'I am hopeful that, now that I'm leaving the campaign trail,' he mentioned.
'Noooooo,' the crowd responded back.
'Yeah,' the doctor said frankly.
He had to pause his remarks for a moment as the crowd stood up from their chairs and applauded him for his work.
'Even though I might be leaving the campaign trail,' Carson said, trying to start up his speech again.
'There's a lot of people who love me, they just won't vote for me, but it's OK,' he said. 'I will still continue to be heavily involved.'
On Wednesday, Carson released a statement saying he was not going to attend Thursday night's debate in Detroit, his hometown, and would use his scheduled CPAC speech to talk about what's next.
He did not officially suspend his campaign at that time.
Earlier today, Politico reported that Carson had already found a new job.
He was going to serve as the national chairman of My Faith Votes, an organization that has the goal of getting evangelical Christians to the polls.
During his CPAC speech, Carson suggested those voters could have propelled a Republican president into the White House last time around.
'I'll be involved in a lot of different things including my Faith Votes, which is an organization that is going to try and help the faith community to recognize how important their vote is,' Carson explained. 'Because in 2012, 25 million evangelicals did not vote. The margin of difference was only five million.'
He bemoaned that this year's electorate hadn't had 'enough of this foolishness.'
'We haven't gotten there quite yet,' Carson noted.
- Ben Carson reiterated that he was leaving the presidential race today during an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference
- Carson didn't endorse one of his rivals - though did take a new job: the national chairman of My Faith Votes
- The retired neurosurgeon hopes to get more people with faith to the polls this November
About 13 minutes into his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson finally said he was leaving the presidential race.
'I am hopeful that, now that I'm leaving the campaign trail,' he mentioned.
'Noooooo,' the crowd responded back.
'Yeah,' the doctor said frankly.
He had to pause his remarks for a moment as the crowd stood up from their chairs and applauded him for his work.
'Even though I might be leaving the campaign trail,' Carson said, trying to start up his speech again.
'There's a lot of people who love me, they just won't vote for me, but it's OK,' he said. 'I will still continue to be heavily involved.'
On Wednesday, Carson released a statement saying he was not going to attend Thursday night's debate in Detroit, his hometown, and would use his scheduled CPAC speech to talk about what's next.
He did not officially suspend his campaign at that time.
Earlier today, Politico reported that Carson had already found a new job.
He was going to serve as the national chairman of My Faith Votes, an organization that has the goal of getting evangelical Christians to the polls.
During his CPAC speech, Carson suggested those voters could have propelled a Republican president into the White House last time around.
'I'll be involved in a lot of different things including my Faith Votes, which is an organization that is going to try and help the faith community to recognize how important their vote is,' Carson explained. 'Because in 2012, 25 million evangelicals did not vote. The margin of difference was only five million.'
He bemoaned that this year's electorate hadn't had 'enough of this foolishness.'
'We haven't gotten there quite yet,' Carson noted.
