Retired neurosurgeon and flagging presidential candidate Ben Carson wrote a column for Fox News on Monday to put to rest any rumors that he’s leaving the campaign trail.
“The commoditization of the electorate is precisely what drove me into this race. Hundreds of thousands of supporters drafted me to run, and hundreds of thousands more continue to push me onward,” Carson wrote, likely referring to his donors.
Carson said voters would gravitate to his campaign because it was built upon integrity.
“I trust that the American people will soon wake-up and realize that leadership is not about how one speaks, but rather the life one leads,” he wrote. “My candidacy is about restoring the principles of self-government by running as a true citizen-statesman who is accountable to all and beholden to none.”
Carson also vowed to continue his campaign as long as supporters keep offering him money.
“It is a fundamentally undemocratic response to insinuate that people should be stripped of their choice ‘for the good of the party,'” he wrote. “That’s why I’ve vowed to continue our campaign as long as we have revenue and support, until the people have decided.”
Carson, who saw his campaign peak last year before a series of disappointing debate performances, has yet to gain traction among voters nationally. TPM’s PollTracker Average places him in a distant fourth place at 8.7 percent.
Read the full column here.
