Print Friendly
GageSkidmore
After years spent as a registered Independent, Ben Carson has officially changed his political distinction to Republican, growing one step closer to announcing a run for president in 2016.
In an interview with the Washington Times, Carson all but confirmed he was going to run, noting that as an Independent, he wouldn’t want to “split an electorate.”
“It’s truly a pragmatic move because I have to run in one party or another. If you run as an independent, you only risk splitting the electorate,” Carson said.
This isn’t the first time that Carson has changed affiliations. As a young man in Detroit, Carson identified with the Democratic Party, before being captivated by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. After Reagan left office, Carson switched to Independent, in part due to how the Republican Party treated President Bill Clinton during his impeachment in 1998.
“Like most Democrats who were black I was told most Republicans were evil, racist people. But then I started listening to Ronald Reagan and I thought God it just makes so much sense. Let me investigate this.”