Exclusive: Carson plans to concentrate more on SC than New Hampshire

Ben Carson, looking to rebound back into the top-tier of the GOP presidential race, told The State on Monday that he will look to campaign more in South Carolina than in New Hampshire, which holds the second primary after the Iowa caucus.

With his social conservative credentials, the retired Maryland neurosurgeon is polling better in South Carolina — usually fourth or fifth — than in New Hampshire, where he is the seventh or eighth choice ahead of the Feb. 9 primary.

“New Hampshire tends to be a little more liberal state, and I am not really going to resonate with liberals very well, which is OK,” Carson told The State while voters in Iowa prepared to cast the first votes of the 2016 election. “I have been there several times but not to the same degree that I have been in South Carolina or Iowa.”

He has visited South Carolina 17 times since 2013 versus nine times to New Hampshire, according to political tracker site P2016.org. He was the second choice in South Carolina for much of the fall.

Carson said he believes that he will visit South Carolina later this week, but no events have been announced by the campaign. South Carolina holds the GOP’s third primary on Feb. 20.

The top two 2016 Republican hopefuls have announced plans to visit the Palmetto State this week.

GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump will hold a rally at the Florence Civic Center on Friday.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who is running second, will stump at a Piedmont high school on Tuesday, where he is expected to announce the endorsement from U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-Laurens.

Carson was once the leader in Iowa, but he was polling fourth ahead of the caucus on Monday.

This story was originally published February 1, 2016 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Exclusive: Carson plans to concentrate more on SC than New Hampshire."