by Jason Hidalgo
That was Ben Carson’s message to supporters on Sunday as he assured a crowd of nearly 360 supporters in Reno that he intends to fight on for his party’s nomination.
Carson railed against politics as usual and how the nomination process and debates have turned into a “personality contest.”
With candidates such as Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina now out of the race, however, Carson says he hopes the conversation moving forward will be more about substance instead of style as the field narrows.
“Now that there are just five candidates left … hopefully we can talk about policies and solutions, and not just make it a popularity contest,” Carson said.
So far, no personality has been bigger than Trump, who enters the Nevada caucus with momentum and a comfortable lead against his rivals in several polls. Trump also won big in the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries after coming in second to Ted Cruz in theIowa caucus.
Responding to a question from a supporter about a Trump victory causing people to vote for the Democratic candidate for president, Carson cautioned against calling the race so early in the nomination process.
“That’s assuming that (Trump’s) the nominee, but I’m not so sure about it,” Carson said. “I think the American people are more sophisticated than the media thinks they are (and) at some point, people are going to look for some real substance.”
So far, Carson’s road has been much rougher, starting with a controversial fourth-place finish in Iowa after the Cruz camp incorrectly told Republican supporters that Carson was suspending his campaign. Since then, Carson has struggled in the following states, placing eighth in New Hampshire and sixth in South Carolina.
The Cruz incident in Iowa continues to be a sore spot for many Carson supporters, several of whom expressed disappointment in the conduct of some of the other Republican candidates.
“A man with integrity has the ability to conduct himself with civil discourse,” said 71-year-old Allen Batts of Reno. “You don’t have to trash the other person to speak the truth.”
Wanda Dean, 76, of Reno also was critical of how Carson was treated by moderators during debates, whom she says rewarded the louder and more bombastic candidates.
“They’re just slinging stuff everywhere,” Dean said. “I don’t like how the (debate moderators) ignore him because he’s not doing that.”
It is a charge that Carson agreed with onstage, where he talked about what he considers unfair treatment by the media. Carson also described criticism about his foreign policy credentials as a deliberate plan by those in the establishment who fear his outsider status.
“For people to say I have no foreign policy experience is foolishness,” Carson said. “You’ll notice in the debates that when it comes to foreign policy questions they ask everybody except me. That way they continue their narrative.”
To demonstrate his grasp of the issues, Carson covered several topics during his appearance, ranging from the Islamic State threat and the national debt to gay rights and federal regulations.
With Carson facing an uphill battle in the Nevada caucus and other states, several supporters begged the candidate to stay in the fight. Carson promised that he would do just that and encouraged the audience to bring others to the polls.
“I am not going to give up,” Carson said. “If you call a baseball game based on the first inning, you’re going to be wrong most of the time.”
Carson’s operatives also maintained confidence when asked about their candidate’s prospects. Aaron Park, Northwest Nevada field director for the Carson for America campaign, pointed to the turnout at today’s event at the Atlantis in Reno, which was just recently inserted into Carson’s schedule.
“People are putting us on death watch, which is just ridiculous,” Park said. “We absolutely have no shortage of volunteers and we were even able to put an event like this on such short notice.”
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| Ben Carson smiles as he is introduced during a town hall meeting on Feb. 21, 2016, in Reno, Nev. (Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP) |
Don’t crown Donald Trump just yet.
That was Ben Carson’s message to supporters on Sunday as he assured a crowd of nearly 360 supporters in Reno that he intends to fight on for his party’s nomination.
Carson railed against politics as usual and how the nomination process and debates have turned into a “personality contest.”
With candidates such as Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina now out of the race, however, Carson says he hopes the conversation moving forward will be more about substance instead of style as the field narrows.
“Now that there are just five candidates left … hopefully we can talk about policies and solutions, and not just make it a popularity contest,” Carson said.
So far, no personality has been bigger than Trump, who enters the Nevada caucus with momentum and a comfortable lead against his rivals in several polls. Trump also won big in the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries after coming in second to Ted Cruz in theIowa caucus.
Responding to a question from a supporter about a Trump victory causing people to vote for the Democratic candidate for president, Carson cautioned against calling the race so early in the nomination process.
“That’s assuming that (Trump’s) the nominee, but I’m not so sure about it,” Carson said. “I think the American people are more sophisticated than the media thinks they are (and) at some point, people are going to look for some real substance.”
So far, Carson’s road has been much rougher, starting with a controversial fourth-place finish in Iowa after the Cruz camp incorrectly told Republican supporters that Carson was suspending his campaign. Since then, Carson has struggled in the following states, placing eighth in New Hampshire and sixth in South Carolina.
The Cruz incident in Iowa continues to be a sore spot for many Carson supporters, several of whom expressed disappointment in the conduct of some of the other Republican candidates.
“A man with integrity has the ability to conduct himself with civil discourse,” said 71-year-old Allen Batts of Reno. “You don’t have to trash the other person to speak the truth.”
Wanda Dean, 76, of Reno also was critical of how Carson was treated by moderators during debates, whom she says rewarded the louder and more bombastic candidates.
“They’re just slinging stuff everywhere,” Dean said. “I don’t like how the (debate moderators) ignore him because he’s not doing that.”
It is a charge that Carson agreed with onstage, where he talked about what he considers unfair treatment by the media. Carson also described criticism about his foreign policy credentials as a deliberate plan by those in the establishment who fear his outsider status.
“For people to say I have no foreign policy experience is foolishness,” Carson said. “You’ll notice in the debates that when it comes to foreign policy questions they ask everybody except me. That way they continue their narrative.”
To demonstrate his grasp of the issues, Carson covered several topics during his appearance, ranging from the Islamic State threat and the national debt to gay rights and federal regulations.
With Carson facing an uphill battle in the Nevada caucus and other states, several supporters begged the candidate to stay in the fight. Carson promised that he would do just that and encouraged the audience to bring others to the polls.
“I am not going to give up,” Carson said. “If you call a baseball game based on the first inning, you’re going to be wrong most of the time.”
Carson’s operatives also maintained confidence when asked about their candidate’s prospects. Aaron Park, Northwest Nevada field director for the Carson for America campaign, pointed to the turnout at today’s event at the Atlantis in Reno, which was just recently inserted into Carson’s schedule.
“People are putting us on death watch, which is just ridiculous,” Park said. “We absolutely have no shortage of volunteers and we were even able to put an event like this on such short notice.”
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