Exploratory Committee for Dr. Ben Carson

Dr. Ben Carson, who wowed the audience when he opened CPAC last week, announced today that he will create a presidential exploratory committee ahead of his decision whether to run for the White House job.

From the Wall Street Journal:

[Dr. Carson] has made a number of hires lately, including a national finance director and aides in several early voting states, who work for his political-action committee, a technically separate entity. With the exploratory committee, Mr. Carson can raise money that he can transfer to his campaign once it begins.

Mr. Carson is aiming to become the favorite of Republican primary voters looking for a candidate who doesn’t have political experience. He has never run for public office before but in recent surveys has polled ahead of some federal officeholders considering White House campaigns. He placed just below the top tier in a Des Moines Register/Bloomberg survey in January of likely Republican caucusgoers.

Dr. Carson came in fourth place in the CPAC straw poll in front of Gov. Jeb Bush. Sen. Paul Rand came in first, followed by Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Ted Cruz.