SHARONVILLE – Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson plans a day of appearances in two Midwestern swing states, one of which is the home ground of a rival for the nomination.
The retired neurosurgeon has been among the leading GOP contenders in some recent national polls.
He’s scheduled to speak at a Tuesday morning rally at the Sharonville Convention Center in the northern Cincinnati suburb before traveling in his “Healer Hauler Tour Bus” to Cedarville University for a rally at the Dixon Ministry Center. Carson will also speak to Dayton Right to Life in a speaking engagement scheduled several months ago before heading north to Michigan.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich is among a field of GOP competitors that got a little smaller Monday with the departure of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who was supposed to be Kasich’s biggest challenger in the industrial states of the Great Lakes region, including Michigan.
Carson has drawn criticism for saying in an NBC “Meet the Press” interview aired Sunday that he doesn’t believe that a Muslim should be elected president. The devout Christian described the Islamic faith as inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution.
A Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman says Carson’s comments are “un-American.”