Republican presidential contender Ben Carson told his supporters in a statement Wednesday afternoon that he does not see a “path forward” and will not attend Thursday’s GOP debate.
“I do not see a political path forward in light of last evening’s Super Tuesday primary results,” he said in the statement. “However, this grassroots movement on behalf of ‘We the People’ will continue. Along with millions of patriots who have supported my campaign for President, I remain committed to Saving America for Future Generations.”
WATCH: Trump wins 7 states on Super Tuesday; Carson says he doesn’t ‘see a political path forward.’ Carig Bosewell reports.
Carson stopped short of formally suspending his campaign and said he has decided to make a speech about his political future on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.
Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, actually led Donald Trump in the Republican race in early polls but failed to connect with voters. He finished a disappointing fourth or fifth in all 11 of Tuesday’s GOP contests.
Several controversial comments, a misstatement in his autobiography, and an admitted lack of experience in foreign policy ultimately derailed his campaign.
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The only African-American among the presidential contenders of either major party, Carson announced his bid in May, where he was raised in a poor neighborhood by a single mother.
READ MORE: GOP presidential hopeful Ben Carson lied about West Point scholarship
He attended Yale University and the University of Michigan Medical School where he earned national acclaim during 29 years leading the pediatric neurosurgery unit of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. He directed the first surgery to separate twins connected at the back of the head.
On Tuesday night in Baltimore, Carson told his supporters he was not quite ready to quit.
“As I’ve had an opportunity to study our system, it has become a little bit discouraging seeing all the relationships that exist there,” he said. “It is rotten to the core on both sides, Democrats and Republicans. And they have weaved such a complex web, it will be very, very difficult to untangle it. But I’m not ready to quit trying to untangle it yet.”
*With files from the Associated Press
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