Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson’s 2016 GOP presidential campaign might be over, but a political action committee that promotes black Republicans is still using Mr. Carson’s likeness to raise money for its own effort.
A recent fundraising email from the BAMPAC, or Black America’s Political Action Committee, Action Fund, quotes Mr. Carson as saying the Republican party is in serious trouble if it doesn’t win over minority voters, along with an image of the former 2016 contender.
“What Dr. Carson says is absolutely true … without Black voters, the Republican party may never win another presidential election,” Alvin Williams, president and CEO of BAMPAC, wrote in the pitch.
“Even worse, the GOP will find it increasingly difficult to win Senate seats in swing states — putting your conservative values in serious jeopardy!” Mr. Williams wrote.
He said a 7 percent increase in African-Americans voting Republican could stop Democrats from winning the 2016 presidential election.
“The tide is turning because proud, black conservatives — like Dr. Ben Carson, Mia Love, and Elbert Guillory — are recruiting minorities to the Republican Party like never before — simply by sharing the promise of conservatism,” Mr. Williams wrote.
Ms. Love, who represents Utah, in 2014 became the first black Republican woman elected to Congress.
Mr. Guillory, a former state senator from Louisiana who made a high-profile party switch from Democrat to Republican in 2013, is running for Congress this year.
Since dropping his own 2016 bid, Mr. Carson has endorsed presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.
Mr. Carson has lent his name to fundraising efforts for the group before, including in one email pitch in January 2015 that Mr. Williams appears to have quoted.
“The Republican Party is in serious trouble,” Mr. Carson wrote in the January 2015 pitch. “Without winning over minority voters, it will be nearly impossible for the GOP to win another presidential election — leaving the future of conservatism in serious jeopardy.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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