Nevada: Ben Carson 4th; Vows to Fight On

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Dr. Ben Carson vowed to stay in the race for the Republican presidential nomination after finishing fourth in the Nevada caucuses Tuesday evening.

He addressed a modest but enthusiastic gathering of supporters in a conference room at the Embassy Suites hotel off the Las Vegas Strip:

I know the pundits and the political class, they want to call everything. And they say it’s all done, it’s all over, we may as well go home, and do the coronation now.

(Laughter)

But you know what? I believe that they’re wrong.

(Cheers)

The interesting thing about my life is that I’ve had so many situations where people have said this is impossible, it can’t be done. So, unless I hear those words, I don’t even get excited.

(Laughter)

So now that it’s time to say those things, this is good…

Carson won 5.4% of the vote, with 20% of caucuses reporting as of 10:20 p.m.

Breitbart News spoke with supporters who stayed at the party until it closed down.

“Six years ago I found the Lord and got saved,” said Laura Nowlan, a small business owner from Las Vegas. “And so, as I was learning the Bible and getting closer to the Lord, I found that I’m not Democrat. I’m a Republican.”

Nowlan, who is Latina, said she does not agree with abortion or same-sex marriage.

“That’s when I started figuring out, ‘no this doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t line up with the Bible.” She said she had voted for President Barack Obama in 2008, but did not the second time in 2012.

“About two months ago, I officially switched to Republican to support Dr. Ben Carson,” she explained.

“Dr. Ben Carson seeks God’s face on a daily basis. Any leader who can do that has a solid foundation. And so that’s why he’s not giving up.”

Another supporter, Dunia Antunez said she, like Laura, voted for Obama but did not know she was a Republican until someone explained to her the difference between the two parities.

“My mother, my father, my family they all told me I was a Democrat and so I believed I was a Democrat.”

Joel B. Pollak contributed to this report.