January 4, 2016

Why the Heck Is Ben Carson Campaigning in Staten Island?

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tabor-roeder/22697784487/in/photolist-AzJ5xR-BtAuBT-uJH9Ac-uJxwrC-vp73Yn-vDfwWJ-vDfphL-vDfsvQ-vDfqLC-vDfsmm-vFxRce-uJxxoY-uJH9tD-uJxNXJ-zifWn3-xBUaGm-C7jUoh-qtuZpJ-qb2X8D-qCCmya-oaPSZz-o71jPh-paCfbP-o8Vgbm-ob6Tfb-oaSYmt-uJxNj9-vFxYCM-vEZAcW-vFWjFp-voYTUW-voYQ2y-vp7b5r-uJHkSk-voYJH9-voYCw9-uJxzgA-uJxzR3-pGkHLa-o5WLxt-o5WGoN-oiMCQw-otFWjs-pTETYi-orFCmu-otHw66-orFBjQ-owK4Tv-pf6ShJ-q1RTzP">Phil Roeder</a>/Flickr

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The New York Republican presidential primary is in 106 days, on April 19. It is the 37th nominating contest, coming more than three months after the first votes are cast in Iowa on February 1. So naturally Ben Carson is campaigning there on Monday night.

This is kind of strange. Carson’s campaign is a mess right now. When three of his top aides quit before the New Year, Armstrong Williams, Carson’s top advisor, found out about it on Twitter. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, once was at the top of the polls, but his numbers have plummeted in Iowa and elsewhere. Still, he insists he’s plowing ahead and remains a contender. If so, what’s he doing in Staten Island, while the other candidates rightly focus on Iowa and New Hampshire in the pre-voting homestretch? Some possibilities:

  • The ferry offers a great view of the harbor at a low price.
  • Carson wants to run for mayor of New York and is learning from Harold Ford’s mistake.
  • Fresh Kills is a cool name for one of the world’s largest garbage dumps.
  • Great pizza.
  • ???

There’s no real explanation for this stop. (Has Carson sold every book he can possibly sell in Iowa?) It’s the latest sign his campaign—though it collected $23 million in the most recent quarter—cannot be considered a serious effort.

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The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

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