Former presidential hopeful Dr. Ben Carson is looking to stay politically active in Florida, the state he moved to after retiring from his celebrated medical career.
Carson spoke to the Florida delegation at a breakfast event on Tuesday at the Republican convention in Cleveland. The event was hosted by state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam who is expected to run for governor in 2018.
Also on Tuesday, Carson endorsed businessman Francis Rooney who is running in the Republican primary to replace retiring Congressman Curt Clawson. The Rooney camp also announced that Carson would take the stump for their candidate in early August in Cape Coral.
“Francis is a successful businessman and family man who will stand up for our conservative values and fight big government all the way to Washington,” said Carson. “I’m supporting Francis because he is a pragmatic conservative leader who knows what it takes to get things done. He will work tirelessly to protect freedom and opportunity while fighting the expansion of the bloated government bureaucracy that is hurting Southwest Florida’s businesses and families.”
Rooney faces Chauncey Goss and Dan Bongino in the primary at the end of August.
Still, while Carson is getting active in Florida, he has no interest in serving in the administration if Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump wins in November. Carson endorsed Trump after ending his presidential bid and is scheduled to speak at the GOP convention on Tuesday night.
In an interview with the Daily Caller, Carson was asked if he would accept an offer to be surgeon general or secretary of Health and Human Service.
“I don’t want a position in the [Trump] Administration,” Carson replied. “I would much rather work from the outside as an adviser, continuing to work on ways that we can save our country, but you don’t have to be a member of the [Trump] Administration to do that.”
