The official Dr. Ben Carson discussion thread

[The Mikado]

Opened in response to Ben Carson overtaking Jeb Bush for second place on the RCP polling average.



Tell us your stories about Dr. Ben Carson and your thoughts on this remarkable candidate.

[°Leprechaun]

Of course, I don't agree with him on the issues, but he seems like a credible candidate and I wouldn't be surprised to see him rise in the polls and maybe win a state or two. By comparison to other candidates I could see why people would vote for him. He may be the candidate most likely to beat expectations. He is very conservative however, which may be his biggest liability.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

I can definitely envision him cutting a deal with Trump to drop out and endorse him in, say, April, in exchange for the VP spot.

[Mehmentum]

The GOP establishment would only marginally prefer Carson to Trump.  At least Carson sticks to the party's doctrine on most policies.

But hey whatever, meet the new anti-Trump!

[Clark Kent]

Probably not that big of a deal. According to that, Scott Walker surpassed Bush a while ago and then fell again. I expect the same to happen to Carson. He'd be better than Trump, but worse than Bush, Kasich, and Rubio.

[Horsemask]

Whenever I hear Carson speak, I feel like falling asleep.

[Likely Voter]

Today Trump said that the reason he is always going after Bush is because "I thought he was the one to beat" but he noted that Carson is now in second and although he thinks Carson is a "nice guy" if it gets closer he "may have to" go after him.

If Trump started going after Carson (especially the way he has gone after Bush) I think it would backfire. There is a lot of overlap between Carson supporters and Trump supporters, but very little with Bush. He could end up alienating his own base who dont hate Carson and dont want to see him savaged by Trump.

[The Mikado]

Today Trump said that the reason he is always going after Bush is because "I thought he was the one to beat" but he noted that Carson is now in second and although he thinks Carson is a "nice guy" if it gets closer he "may have to" go after him.

If Trump started going after Carson (especially the way he has gone after Bush) I think it would backfire. There is a lot of overlap between Carson supporters and Trump supporters, but very little with Bush. He could end up alienating his own base who dont hate Carson and dont want to see him savaged by Trump.

I tend to agree, but I view Trump's statement more as a threat to Carson to not get any ideas about going negative on Trump.



RCP averages from four years ago as of right now. I used the same date range as the image in the OP.

Notice that Jeb Bush is a tenth of a point ahead of where the illustrious Dr. Google "Ron" Paul was.

[HillOfANight]

If Trump started going after Carson (especially the way he has gone after Bush) I think it would backfire. There is a lot of overlap between Carson supporters and Trump supporters, but very little with Bush. He could end up alienating his own base who dont hate Carson and dont want to see him savaged by Trump.

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/251311-surging-carson-looks-to-peel-off-trump-voters
Not sure if Trump has heard this, but I doubt he'd be happy to hear Ben subtly claim he doesn't have the temperament for office.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/ben-carson-abortion-stance-121456.html

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Trump has ammunition, but he's holding his fire until Jeb is completely demolished.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I understand the appeal of Trump.  I'm baffled with the appeal of Carson, whom I like, personally.

[Peeperkorn]

He'll be forgotten.

[The Mikado]

Carson as emerging anti-Trump?

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

I must be blind or stupid, but I don't understand why Carson is rising in the polls, I have heard barely anything about him in the last few weeks, so what is it?

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HuffPost:

[Ljube]

I like Carson a lot and agree with him on most positions.
He is a very likable candidate. He doesn't go negative.
He may not have the passion necessary to win in the current day and age,

He will not emerge as the anti-Trump, because he won't accept that role.
His supporters overlap with Trump's. He is an outsider, just like Trump.

If he stays second, he will be the natural Trump's choice for VP.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

I like Carson a lot and agree with him on most positions.
He is a very likable candidate. He doesn't go negative.
He may not have the passion necessary to win in the current day and age,

He will not emerge as the anti-Trump, because he won't accept that role.
His supporters overlap with Trump's. He is an outsider, just like Trump.

If he stays second, he will be the natural Trump's choice for VP.

Even though Trump said he will only pick a politician to be his VP

[muon2]

I watched the IA state fair straw poll quite closely. After the first weekend the numbers were pretty constant with small daily shifts. I noticed on many days when Trump shifted up a few tenths, Carson shifted down about the same amount and vice versa. That suggests that the voters for all the others were a fixed percentage and Carson and Trump were drawing from the same pool.