Armstrong Williams, a close confidant and business manager for Dr. Ben Carson, told Breitbart News exclusively on Friday that Carson is confident he will re-emerge as a formidable candidate, place top three in Iowa, and win South Carolina—and eventually win the GOP nomination in 2016.
“He remains in control,” Williams said in a phone interview. “He made the changes that were necessary to give him the best chance to surge again to place first, second or third in Iowa, to win South Carolina, and establish the necessary momentum to win the GOP nomination.”
Both Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett and communications director Doug Watts resigned on New Year’s Eve, a major campaign shake-up just a month before voting begins in the Iowa caucuses on February 1. Their resignation came even as Carson’s team says they raked in $23 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, more than Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s impressive nearly $20 million. Despite Carson’s impressive fundraising, he has seen a drop-off in polling—which has led to Cruz’s rise into second place.
Williams told Breitbart News exclusively that Carson expects those voters who switched from Carson to Cruz to come back to Carson—and that Carson is planning to aggressively challenge not just Cruz, but GOP frontrunner billionaire Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), as well.
“Ted Cruz is not an outsider,” Williams said. “He is as much a part of the political establishment as anybody else. His rise has come at the expense of Dr. Carson, and Dr. Carson will come back to earn the trust of those voters that have peeled off to Ted Cruz, and not just voters but others.”
He added that Carson is going to put Cruz, Rubio, and Trump in the crosshairs.
“His ground game, his door-to-door, expanding his staff in Iowa, spending more time in Iowa, advertising more in Iowa, a grassroots ground game in Iowa and challenging Cruz, Trump, and Rubio as you’ve never seen before,” Williams said when asked to explain how Carson’s going to come back from what the mainstream media have claimed is the brink for his campaign.
“Dr. Carson feels that he is the most authentic man of faith in this race,” Williams stated, adding:
It’s not just rhetoric with Dr. Carson; he lives it. He will build on that even more. He will also show that he is a wartime president not just through rhetoric and not just through marginalizing people, but through respecting people and joining forces with all Americans in unifying to fight to stop these Islamic terrorists that are aiming to destroy our way of life.
With Bennett and Watts’ departures from the Carson team, longtime senior Carson adviser Ed Brookover will take over as campaign manager and retired Army Major General Bob Dees will take over as campaign chairman.
“We could not be more thrilled than to have General Bob Dees as the chairman of the campaign and Ed Brookover, who’s been with us since day one, as the new campaign manager,” Williams said.
Williams added that Carson has more changes coming to his campaign.
“What people are not realizing is that the changes that were initiated yesterday is only the beginning,” Williams said. “More changes are coming.”
Williams, a close Carson confidante for years, and his longtime business manager, made clear, as well, that he will continue to have no official role in the campaign, but will remain a close confidante of the retired world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon.
“I will have no official role in the Carson campaign,” Williams said. “I will continue in the role that I’m in as confidential adviser and business manager and am willing to assist wherever I’m needed.”
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