We asked BuzzFeed News’ senior national reporter Joel Anderson — who wrote a profile about the candidate in February, “Could running for president destroy Ben Carson’s legacy?” — two quick questions about who Carson is and why he’s suddenly so popular.
Who is Ben Carson and why is he appealing right now?
ANDERSON: He’s appealing now for the reasons that he’s always been appealing, dating back to the days when he used his inspirational life story — the worst student in his fifth grade class in Detroit to a world-renowned brain surgeon — to rise to national prominence.
Ben Carson is an American success story, a rags-to-riches hero who embodied achievement against long odds. It’s possible that every voter might see, or hope to see, a bit of themselves in a man who made something of himself despite being raised in poverty by an illiterate single mother.
Having accounted for his self-determination and intelligence, voters might also be drawn to Carson’s soft-spoken, self-assuredness. He’s neither a blowhard nor a pushover. Whether at political rallies, debates, or the occasional media interview, Carson talks in the manner of a doctor explaining a very serious health problem to a patient.
Maybe, voters think, the retired doctor might be able to cure what ails America.
He's polling right there with Trump, right behind him. Why are the two of them in particular popular right now?
ANDERSON: I’m no political scientist, but it’s easy to imagine that potential voters see the same streak of authenticity in both men.
Neither Trump nor Carson have spent most of their life angling for or aspiring to political office, and therefore haven’t developed a reputation for measuring their words or positions on issues of importance to them.
For Carson, in particular, it can be argued that his political beliefs — many of them covered in his wildly popular books from the 1990s — compelled political operatives to lure him into the race. Among other things, Carson has spoken out against affirmative action, called political correctness “a serious threat,” and was an early critic of Democratic proposals for health care reform. In fact, it was his performance at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2013, where he denounced Obamacare mere feet away from the president, that boosted his popularity among conservatives.
So combine that with his previous popularity, and a few campaign stumbles by the other, better-known presidential candidates, and Carson seemed primed to poll well early.