Ben Carson Will Be A No-Show At His New Hampshire Primary Party

Dr. Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon and Republican presidential candidate, will not attend his own New Hampshire primary party on Tuesday night.

Instead, he will instead ditch the Granite State for South Carolina at some point Tuesday afternoon, his campaign revealed, according to Politico. His election-night party is scheduled to take place at the Crowne Plaza Nashua in Nashua, New Hampshire.

He did not hold any campaign events on Monday, Breitbart News reported.

The South Carolina Primary, which will occur on February 20, is the next Republican Primary on the calendar.

Breitbart News has reported that staffers from the pro-Carson super PAC have defected from his campaign and aligned themselves with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Last week, Carson similarly left Iowa as Caucus results were still coming in and went home to Florida, a move that was portrayed by CNN  as the Republican candidate suspending his campaign. Carson’s team later told news outlets that he went home for a change of clothes, and that he was continuing his campaign for the White House.

Polling has consistently predicted bad news for Carson’s fate in the New Hampshire Republican Primary. He has finished in last place or tied for last place in the 18 most recent New Hampshire Republican Primary polls. Nationwide polling has shown similar results.

UPDATE: The Carson campaign has released a statement to the media: 

“After several stops meeting with New Hampshire voters, supporters and media today, Dr. Carson will be en route to South Carolina to continue his campaign for faith, integrity and common sense leadership. During such a crucial campaign for America’s future, it’s sad to see the press more pre-occupied with dissecting the minutia of his schedule than reporting on his proposals to reinvigorate the country. Dr. Carson is grateful to the many supporters and volunteers for their tireless efforts to help spread his message across the Granite State. As he continues on to South Carolina and beyond, he will do so with a renewed energy from the faith and support of the many great individuals he met across New Hampshire.”