National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee Raises $2.8 Million in First Six Months

MERRIFIELD, Va., March 4, 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, raised $2,837,401 in its first six months of activity, the committee announced today.

"Dr. Carson has said he will consider running for president if the American people are clamoring, and the tremendous outpouring of donations shows that the people are indeed clamoring," said Vernon Robinson, the Committee's campaign director. "Hundreds of thousands have signed the petition asking him to run, donated to the grassroots effort and volunteered their time to represent the Committee at events around the country."

Nearly 47,000 individuals contributed to the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee in its first six months in operation between August 21, 2013 and February 22, 2014. The average contribution amount is $45, with many donors contributing more than once. The Committee reinvests the funds in projects to raise awareness of Dr. Carson's qualifications and lay the groundwork for a national grassroots support network for his candidacy.

The Committee's fundraising efforts are outpacing similar efforts designed to draft other high-profile candidates into the 2016 presidential race. A political action committee encouraging former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to enter the race for the Democratic nomination raised approximately $1.3 million in its first six months of operation, and roughly $2.75 million in its second six-month span.

More than 300,000 Americans have signed petitions encouraging Dr. Carson to enter the race. The Committee delivers roughly 4,000 petitions to Dr. Carson each week from Americans who want him to run. In addition to petition signatures and financial support, over 7,100 Americans have volunteered across the nation to represent the Committee at GOP and Tea Party events and encouraged their friends and neighbors to join the movement and clamor for Dr. Carson.

In January, Dr. Carson overwhelmingly won the Linn County, Iowa, midterm caucus straw poll with 87 percent of the votes. And in a recent poll of thousands of Tea Party activists, 77 percent of respondents said they support Dr. Carson. Dr. Carson will be a candidate on the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll March 6-8 in Washington, D.C., where the Committee will be on site educating attendees about Dr. Carson and encouraging them to clamor for him to run.

"Grassroots conservatives are drawn to Dr. Carson because they know he is the only candidate capable of healing our land and uniting our country to overcome the crises created by recent administrations," Robinson said. "Our ranks continue to swell as more and more conservatives realize that Ben Carson is the one candidate we can trust with our votes in 2016."

Ben Carson is a political outsider with the background, experience, leadership and vision to heal the bitter divides in American politics and set our nation on the path to prosperity. As a former director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and one of the most respected brain surgeons in the world, he has the leadership skills required to lead the country. Dr. Carson is a great communicator and man of character who embraces the Founding Fathers' vision for America to be built on principles of freedom, liberty and personal responsibility.

"The first six months of our campaign to draft Dr. Carson have been a great success," said John Philip Sousa IV, national chairman of the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee, "but the next six months will be even more important. Now is the time for other conservatives to join this movement and clamor for Dr. Carson to run by signing the petition, speaking out with the Committee's Clamor Kits, and supporting their fellow activists." 

About the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee

The National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee is a political action committee formed to draft Dr. Ben Carson into the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. It was founded in August 2013 by John Philip Sousa IV and Vernon Robinson, and works to raise awareness of Dr. Carson's qualifications and to engage grassroots conservative activists in clamoring for Dr. Carson to run for president. For more information visit http://www.runbenrun.org/

SOURCE National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee