GOP operatives reportedly want Ben Carson to drop out, run for Senate

Republican Party operatives are apparently pushing retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson to drop out of the presidential race and instead run for a Florida Senate seat, CNN reports.

There is indeed a Senate seat open, as Marco Rubio has said he won't seek re-election. But so far Carson, who didn't place in the top three in any of the Super Tuesday contests, hasn't given any signs he plans to leave the presidential race.

"Millions of Americans plead with me to continue," Carson said in a statement Tuesday. "They want to have a choice and a representative voice to ensure people of faith are not marginalized and that integrity is restored to leadership, with a focus on common sense solutions to the myriad problems we face as a nation."

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Carson has "been offered many deals" to leave the race, top aide Armstrong Williams confirmed to Politico on Wednesday, adding that the candidate does not have a pathway to the nomination.