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Candidate Carson to come to Canfield for fundraiser
CANFIELD
Dr. Ben Carson, a Republican presidential candidate, will take a break from campaigning in New Hampshire today to attend a campaign fundraiser in Canfield.
Deana Bass, his national press secretary, confirmed Saturday that Carson will have a “quick visit” today to the Mahoning Valley for a private fundraiser. She declined to discuss details.
The event will be at the home of Dan and Christine Large of Berlin Station Road in Canfield, according to an invitation obtained by The Vindicator.
The invitation states the event will last 90 minutes; ticket prices range from $250 to $2,700 per person.
Carson has no public appearances scheduled in the Valley, and he will head back to New Hampshire after the private event, Bass said.
Speaking from New Hampshire, where he is working for the presidential campaign of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Mahoning County Republican Party Chairman Mark Munroe said Saturday, “I’m disappointed the Carson campaign did not reach out to the local party for help. We would have been glad to provide assistance and support for his event.”
The timing of the event is somewhat unusual as all of the presidential candidates are spending as much time as possible in New Hampshire, where the nation’s first presidential primary is Tuesday.
Carson participated in Saturday night’s Republican presidential debate in Manchester.
He is in fourth place in national polls of the GOP presidential candidates with 7.8 percent, according to RealClearPolitics.com, a website that aggregates polling data. The website also has Carson in last place among the eight Republican candidates in New Hampshire with 3.3 percent.
During last Tuesday’s Iowa presidential caucus, Carson finished fourth, with 9.3 percent of the vote.
He is the first 2016 presidential candidate to personally visit the largely Democratic Mahoning Valley for a campaign fundraiser.
Former President Bill Clinton came to the Zoldan family home in Canfield on Nov. 19 for a fundraiser for his wife, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential frontrunner.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida – third in national polling, who finished third in the Iowa Republican caucus – made a campaign stop Oct. 16 at BOC Water Hydraulics in Goshen Township.
Ohio’s primary election will take place March 15.