Ben Carson plans to jump-start his stalled campaign in Iowa, a state central to his fortunes where he once led in polls.

After stumbling through November and December — slipping from the top tier of the crowded Republican field to the middle of the pack — the retired neurosurgeon said Wednesday he plans to spend 16 days this month in Iowa ahead of its Feb. 1 caucuses, reorienting his campaign after months of scattershot appearances all over the country. Carson is promising a more aggressive posture, to inject his message into the news cycle and respond more readily to criticism, all part of a campaign retooling following the exodus of senior staff who clashed with the candidate’s close confidant, Armstrong Williams, over strategic and messaging decisions.


It's an eleventh-hour correction in a state that a large population of evangelical voters makes a more natural fit for Carson’s socially conservative views. Many of them have migrated toward Ted Cruz as Carson has floundered in polls, falling to a consistent fourth place behind Cruz, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio.

Terry Giles, who chaired Carson’s campaign but was elbowed out in October after clashing with senior staff, said Carson must finish in the top two in Iowa to sustain his campaign through February, when New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada also weigh in. Carson’s campaign has been hemorrhaging cash; without the boost of a top spot in Iowa, it might be hard to keep afloat into March, when the bulk of primary contests will be decided.

“If he finishes third or lower, given that he’s not going to be a standout in New Hampshire … they could be broke by the time they get to South Carolina,” Giles said. “They’ve got to do well in Iowa, keep the money coming in, and they’ve got to fix the money problem in the campaign.”

A win or near-miss in Iowa might be the only way to right his campaign's upside-down finances. Documents leaked to The Wall Street Journal show the campaign spent more than it raised in October, and an adviser also reportedly said the campaign would end December with $5.5 million on hand, a sharp drop in its financial health, reflecting tens of millions of dollars in spending as Carson tanked in polls.

Another former Carson adviser suggested a top-three finish would win him a ticket out of Iowa. “I do think it is smart to roll the dice on Iowa and try to land in the top three. If you don’t, money starts to get tough to raise,” the adviser said.

Carson’s suddenly fixed focus on Iowa comes just two months after he concluded a two-week book tour that took him off the campaign trail at the precise time he had surged to the top of the polls. At the time, he faced criticism for mixing business interests with his presidential campaign and also questions about whether skipping the early-voting states at a crucial juncture in the campaign would ultimately hurt his ability to win.

Among the changes in his campaigns reset is the placement of a retired Army general at the helm of his organization as he battles a perception that he’s unprepared to lead on increasingly pressing foreign policy challenges — a perception that’s been particularly damaging in Iowa, where national security has soared on the list of voter concerns. That general, Robert Dees, said Tuesday that Carson is as prepared as anyone to protect the country.

“People say he doesn’t know foreign policy. That’s a misnomer,” Dees said, in campaign video posted on Facebook . “I’d gladly follow him as our commander in chief, for sure.”

Carson’s overhaul included the departure of campaign manager Barry Bennett, who told CNN on Wednesday that Donald Trump will win the GOP primary “unless something cataclysmic happens.” But as he departed the campaign last week, Bennett also said Carson, with the right strategy, could prevail in Iowa. “I think there is a path for him to win Iowa, but it’s going to require him not listening to Armstrong Williams anymore,” Bennett said.

Giles said Carson’s new national team should step back and let the Iowa operation— overseen by tea party leader Ryan Rhodes, as well as Rob and Christi Taylor, a state lawmaker and a doctor, respectively — help Carson mend his tattered standing.

“Every ounce of their concentration has to be on Iowa,” he said.

Carson has attributed his sharp decline in primary polls to a string of stories questioning his compelling personal narrative — from his violent youth to his claim of a scholarship offer to West Point — and to his soft-spoken demeanor at a time of great anxiety over terrorism.

“It’s OK. I can deal with that. I haven’t given up,” he said. “I’m going to continue to say the same things,” he told The Des Moines Register editorial board Wednesday in an hourlong sit-down seeking the paper's endorsement.

“The more people that I talk to, the more people who actually get an opportunity to see who I am for themselves ... the better off we’re going to be,” he said.

Carson will continue to test that theory Thursday, when he has events scheduled in Bettendorf, Anamosa and Cedar Rapids, all in eastern Iowa.

