Dr. Ben Carson Switches Political Parties

Ben Carson has officially changed his political party affiliation, moving from Independent to Republican.

Carson, who worked for years as a neurosurgeon at John Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, filed the  paperwork in his new home county of Palm Beach, Florida.

Carson told the Washington Times:

“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. I clearly would not be welcome in the Democratic Party, and so that only leaves one party. Fortunately, the fit is pretty good. I believe in reasonable sized government. I believe in personal responsibility. I believe in individual freedom. And I believe in creating an environment to let free markets grow our economy. And all of that is very consistent with being a Republican.”

Carson switched his affiliation from Democrat to Republican upon becoming familiar with Ronald Reagan’s message. He said: “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.”

He states to the Times that he decided to become Independent 15 to 20 years ago after watching Republicans with their own personal faults wanting to impeach Clinton for his extramarital affair.

Carson also said that he thinks it makes sense to switch parties now, before he makes the decision whether to run for the White House in the spring.

He said: “If I make the decision to run, then I clearly don’t want to be backtracking and do something in a hurry. It’s one of those things I wanted to be thinking about far ahead.”

h/t: WND

BCN editor’s note: This article first appeared at Western Journalism.