Ben Carson’s campaign might be about to go off the rails. According to Politico, his finance chair resigned yesterday:
Ben Carson’s national finance chairman Dean Parker resigned Thursday morning amid questions about his use of campaign fund and criticism from Carson allies and donors.
Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, appointed Parker, a tech industry entrepreneur from Mobile, Alabama, in May to spearhead the campaign’s fundraising efforts. Parker’s been a relatively little-noticed campaign power, having Carson’s ear despite friction with other leaders. Since he joined, some campaign insiders told POLITICO, his operation has piled up unnecessary expenses and paid hefty consulting fees to an inexperienced staff. Parker recently began earning a $20,000 monthly salary, which veteran campaign operatives say is unusual for what is typically an unpaid, honorary role.
The bills for Parker’s shop, the inside sources said, were easy to overlook in the fall as the campaign raked in small donations, Carson soared in the polls and the campaign’s direct-mail operation generated tens of millions of dollars. But Parker’s operation became a sore point as the campaign lost its footing in mid-November and the candidate’s poll numbers slipped, they added. Even as senior leaders questioned Parker in leadership discussions, Carson still backed him on financial and hiring decisions, the campaign sources said.
At one point, Carson was the GOP frontrunner, outraising nearly every candidate in the field and leading Trump in Iowa, where voters seemed to prefer his social conservative bona fides to Trump’s “New York values.” Since then, he’s bled senior staff and points in the polls. Although he was still competitive in Iowa going into last night, with a war chest to stay that way, Carson struggled mightily to distinguish himself in the debates. It’s sad to say, but the brilliant neurosurgeon may be on his way out.
AAN Staff
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