Ben Carson has given up on 2016. But his super PAC refuses to quit.

(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

published 3 March 2016

Ben Carson announced Wednesday that he would be a no-show at the Republican debate Thursday evening, citing no "political path forward" after Super Tuesday's disappointing results. However, the retired neurosurgeon has yet to actually drop out of the race. And so his super PAC, 2016 Committee, plows on.

At the Gaylord National Harbor Hotel in Maryland on Thursday, 2016 Committee was still campaigning for their candidate despite all signs indicating he is going to drop out of the race on Friday. Mother Jones asked one supporter, Beth Trivett, if she was dispirited to be campaigning under the circumstances, to which she replied, "The brilliant doctor generally has a plan."

Still, while upbeat about Carson in general, Trivett didn't have nice things to say about the shape the presidential race had taken this year. "We all saw the media and parties literally lynch this brilliant man," she said, pointing over her shoulder to a cardboard cutout of Carson.There's already been some talk that Carson could try his hand at another political run — perhaps for Marco Rubio's Senate seat in Florida. But Trivett, who was working with the group before Carson even entered the race, wasn't sold on that idea. "We drafted him specifically to be the president," Trivett said. "This was for POTUS. POTUS is still my preference." [Mother Jones]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.