Dr. Ben Carson Takes 2nd Place in 2016 Presidential Straw Poll

MERRIFIELD, Va., June 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — The National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee, a political action committee formed to draft Dr. Ben Carson into the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, is proud to announce that Dr. Carson made a strong showing in the 2014 National Republican Leadership Conference (NRLC) presidential straw poll, coming in 2nd place in a crowded field of twelve contenders.

“Dr. Ben Carson continues to prove he is a strong presidential contender for 2016 taking top spots in poll after poll,” said Vernon Robinson, the Committee’s campaign director. “Dr. Carson continues to say that if enough Americans clamor for him he will run for president, and a strong showing in the NRLC straw poll clearly shows that the grassroots are clamoring for him.”

The NRLC poll was conducted over the three-day conference May 29-31 in New Orleans, and surveyed 1500 attendees. Dr. Carson was in a dead heat with Sen. Ted Cruz, narrowly coming in 2^nd place with 29.38 percent of the vote to Cruz’s 30.33 percent. The next closest contender was Sen. Rand Paul who came in a distant 3^rd with 10.43 percent of the vote.

Dr. Carson’s strong showing in the straw poll is the latest in a series of polls showing that the American people are clamoring for him to run. In January, Dr. Carson overwhelmingly won the Linn County, Iowa, midterm caucus straw poll with 87 percent of the votes. And 77 percent of respondents to a poll of Tea Party activists said they support Dr. Carson.  Dr. Carson went on to take top spots in both the Northeast Republican Leadership Conference in New Hampshire and the Conservative Political Action Conference Straw Poll in Washington DC.

“Dr. Carson’s seems to be noticing the groundswell of support for his candidacy demonstrated by thousands of Committee volunteers around the country, and hundreds of thousands of petitions urging him to run,” said John Philip Sousa IV, national chairman of the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee. “Dr. Carson is the potential candidate best suited to heal our nation and put America back on the path to prosperity, and wins like the NRLC straw illustrate that conservatives stand behind him.”