Thread: Carson campaign says it has outraised Cruz

Carson campaign says it has outraised Cruz

By Elizabeth Landers, CNN

Updated 10:18 PM ET, Wed December 30, 2015

(CNN)Ben Carson's campaign said Wednesday that it raised at least $23 million in the fourth quarter, outpacing Ted Cruz's fundraising total of nearly $20 million and likely placing the retired neurosurgeon's haul at or near the top of the GOP fundraising race.

Dean Parker, Carson's finance chairman, provided the figure to CNN, though the exact amount won't become public until late next month, when the next round of Federal Election Commission reports are filed. As of Wednesday night, Carson and Cruz were the only GOP candidates to disclose how much they hauled in over 2015's final three months.

The campaign also declined to say how much cash it had on hand. Throughout the race, it has spent a significant amount of money to fundraise by relying on direct mail and list purchases to build a low-dollar donor list.

But the fundraising figure, coming after a third quarter in which the campaign led the GOP field with $20.8 million, likely comes as a relief to Carson's supporters at a time of concern about the stability of his campaign.

Earlier this month, CNN reported that Carson's campaign was in crisis, and last week, the candidate himself pushed back against reports that said he was considering a major shakeup to his campaign staff, including senior staff assignments.

A CNN/ORC poll released last week found Carson tied for third place with Marco Rubio at 10%, well behind GOP front-runner Donald Trump and Cruz.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/30/politi...sing-ted-cruz/

Most of his haul is coming from evangelicals. However, that support seems to be on the decline.

Ben Carson's Iowa evangelical support is waning

• ByKYLIE ATWOODCBS NEWSDecember 8, 2015, 11:40 AM

The day before two polls showed his support waning in Iowa, Ben Carson spoke to over 1,000 churchgoers at the Cornerstone Family Church services in Des Moines on Sunday. God owns the universe, Carson said. "That is why I seem to have a calm demeanor all the time," Carson said. "[P]eople mistake that for softness, but what it really is -- is confidence in the Lord, recognizing that if God is for you who can be against you. It really doesn't matter what the issue is."

That kind of fatalism caused those at the services to describe him admiringly as "called" and "deeply religious," but he didn't appear to winning the unequivocal support of many members of the congregation.

"I can't say yes or no right now," said caucus goer Donna Jones when asked if Carson was her favorite GOP candidate. Jones, who has supported Mike Huckabee in the past, has not yet decided who she will caucus for in February. She stood alongside other churchgoers who said they'd "consider" Carson but also mentioned Trump, Rubio and Cruz as candidates who are also piquing their interest.

Two polls out Monday showed Cruz gaining in Iowa. In the Monmouth Poll Cruz surpassed Trump as the leader of the pack amongst Iowan caucus goers while Carson fell to 13 percent, a 19-point decline since Monmouth's October poll.

Both polls showed Carson's support among evangelical voters -- a group he garnered 36 percent support from in September -- in decline while Cruz's support in this lane surged. These voters, according to the Monmouth poll, now back Cruz (30 percent) over Trump (18 percent), Rubio (16 percent), and Carson (15 percent). Maintaining evangelical support is a key factor in the Iowa caucuses, since evangelicals account for about half of the Iowa GOP caucus electorate.

Cornerstone Family Church in Des Moines is diverse and nondenominational, with a congregation that is about half African-American.
Jill White, the mother of 8 racially-mixed children, stood in line to get a burger at the Carson campaign's tailgate after service. The West Des Moines native believes Carson could have a positive impact on her children, as a conservative African American leader.

"We should be considering African American presidents," White said. "We just can't have the one that we have right now." And further, she said firmly, "We need a Christian in office." And yet, asked who she supports, White said she didn't know yet.

The Carson campaign has been making a concerted effort with this group of voters, and the Church tailgates show that. The campaign bus, wrapped in the Carson campaign logo, and campaign volunteers go to Iowa churches almost every weekend to spread the word about their candidate. Last week, Carson himself also visited churches in the state, and he plans to attend more services in Iowa through the caucuses.
"One of the places where I am most comfortable is in a church," Ben Carson tells congregants across Iowa.

"He loves the chance to go to church. Unlike some other candidates who want to use church, Ben is someone who is genuine," explains Ryan Rhodes, Carson campaign Iowa state director. "It is where he wants to be."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ben-cars...ort-is-waning/

Apparently not where the money is concerned. I was surprised he did so well in the money raising arena.

12/31/15

Ben Carson's Top Two Aides Resign

Sounds like good riddance.

Republican Ben Carson's campaign manager, 20 staff quit

Reuters

- ‎5 minutes ago‎

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON
U.S. Republican Ben Carson's 2016 presidential bid was thrown into chaos on Thursday when his campaign manager and some 20 other staff members quit amid infighting, dropping poll numbers and negative media coverage...