Ben Carson For President 2016: Retired Neurosurgeon's Presidential Campaign Kicked Off In Detroit

Retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, a Republican, launched his presidential campaign Monday by noting that he was proud he has never run for public office and arguing that politicians are ruining the country. Carson, who formed an exploratory committee in March, has appeal among conservative Republicans and was found to be the favored candidate among young GOP voters in a recent poll.

“I think it’s time for the people to rise up and take the government back,” Carson said from the Music Hall Center for Performing Arts in his native Detroit. “The political class won’t like me saying stuff like that.”

Carson came to prominence as the first black head of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. His political positions gained attention during the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast, where he railed against the Affordable Care Act with President Barack Obama sitting at the dais.