Ben Carson in Cleveland

Possible Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson meets with a reporter after speaking Saturday at the Cuyahoga County GOP's Lincoln Day dinner in Cleveland.

(Henry J. Gomez, Northeast Ohio Media Group)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - On a weekend when nearly 20 Republican presidential prospects were camped out in New Hampshire, Ben Carson camped out in Cleveland.

"The weather's nicer here," Carson said lightly after delivering the keynote speech Saturday evening at the Cuyahoga County GOP's Lincoln Day dinner.

The retired brain surgeon's speech to about 600 party faithful at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel came exactly 15 months before the Republican National Convention kicks off a few blocks away at Quicken Loans Arena. Carson is exploring a White House bid and will announce next month whether he intends to compete for the nomination that will officially be awarded here in July 2016.

Carson, who rose from poverty in Detroit to the head of the pediatric neurosurgery department at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, emphasized his rags-to-riches biography. He talked of a similar journey for the country, calling for can-do Americans and for leaders who will scale back federal regulations on business.

"If anybody doesn't cooperate, you just pull the noose on and strangle them," said Carson, who used a gentle voice but dramatic rhetoric to attack big-government. "That's what has happened in America. That's what we have to undo."

Carson's political celebrity soared in 2013 after a stinging rebuke of President Barack Obama's signature health care law, delivered as Obama looked on at the National Prayer Breakfast. The speech made Carson a hero to Republicans who, in their criticisms of the nation's first black president, are happy to have a black rising star on their side. His audience cheered loudly in approval when Terry Fergus, the local Republican fundraiser who introduced Carson, mentioned the prayer breakfast.

Carson, 63, quickly issued a "disclaimer" as he took the hotel ballroom's stage.

"I am not politically correct, so don't be surprised," he said.

In early national polls, Carson has fared better than more-established GOP pols such as U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey. The most recent RealClearPolitics average of polling data places Carson fifth among prospective Republican candidates, just behind U.S. Sen. Rand Paul Of Kentucky.

But Carson's introduction to national politics has been bumpy. He caused a stir last month by telling CNN that being gay is a choice, citing as evidence those who "go into prison straight - and when they come out, they're gay." Carson later apologized for the remarks and has said he will avoid discussing gay rights in the future.

Carson, despite his initial disclaimer, avoided such thorny issues in his speech. At one point, in a call for unity, he even specified: "It doesn't matter what their sexual orientation is." He also called for spirited, but polite, debate.

"We are not each other's enemies," he said. "Just because we may disagree about something does not make us enemies. Let's instead concentrate on civil discussion."

Carson's early stumble over gay rights was illustrative of an unseasoned newcomer whose views invited much less scrutiny when he was in the private sector. As a presidential candidate, his thoughts on everything from Obamacare to same-sex marriage will be fair game. Is that a consideration that is weighing on Carson's mind as he nears a decision on whether to make a White House run?

"I will never be a politician, because politicians have a tendency to do and say what's politically expedient," Carson told the Northeast Ohio Media Group in an interview after his speech. "And I believe there's room to do and say what's right."

Carson has an announcement set for May 4, in his native Detroit.

"Hopefully," he said, offering a preview, "something that inspires and gives people hope and provides some facts and some details about why I would or would not run."