Ben Carson taking serious steps toward 2016 campaign

In case you missed it, which you most likely did, Ben Carson put out an hour long documentary which aired this past weekend in 20 states. It was called a documentary but looked a whole lot more like a campaign ad, according to the Washington Post.

The ad buy, coupled with the organization Carson is assembling, points to a possible run in 2016. However, perhaps even more notable could be Carson’s decision in recent weeks to switch his voter identification from the “Independence Party of Florida” to “Republican”.

Report from Palm Beach Post:

Retired neurosurgeon and conservative folk hero Ben Carson of West Palm Beach took a step toward a potential 2016 presidential run recently by switching his Palm Beach County voter registration to Republican from the obscure Independence Party of Florida.

The change was stamped in at the county Elections Office on Oct. 31.

In an interview with The Palm Beach Post earlier this year, Carson explained his unusual voter registration:

“I used to be a Democrat. Then during my residency I became a Republican just listening to a lot of common sense from Reagan. And then subsequently, just noticing a fair amount of hypocrisy in both parties, I decided to become an independent,” Carson said.

Carson said he’d prefer to see party labels removed from the ballot. But, he said, “If I were going to run — and it’s a big if — then I would run as a Republican.”

This all-but removes the possibility of Carson launching an independent bid for the White House. When interviewed about the change, Carson said he felt running as an independent would split the vote and lead to a Democratic victory in 2016. I can’t assume someone has put this much thought into all this and then decides not to launch a campaign. With the field so wide open, what doe she have to lose?