Ben Carson says Texas is key to his GOP presidential bid

Jill Nettles waited in line for more than 2  1/2 hours Tuesday morning just to make sure she could meet Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson.

She and her family, who showed up at the Barnes & Noble near Hulen Mall at 8 a.m., were first in line to see Carson and have him autograph his book — A More Perfect Union — for them.

“I’m all about this man,” said Nettles, of Fort Worth. “He’s honest, he’s a Christian and he would make an honest politician.

“I asked him, when he becomes president, what we would call him,” she said with a grin. “He said, ‘Mr. President, M.D.’ ”

Nettles was among the estimated 1,200 people who flocked to the bookstore to see Carson, who is one of two GOP presidential candidates who claim more than 20 percent support in recent polls, behind only Donald Trump.

He has been making his way through Texas, greeting large crowds of supporters in cities such as Austin, Fort Worth, Plano and San Antonio.

He said delegate-rich Texas — as well as other states across the country — is important to his campaign.

“Texas, like all the states, is incredibly important,” he said. “Right now, the problems that we face are American problems, not regional problems, not Democrat or Republican problems. And unless we stop fighting, ... we are in trouble.

“My strategy to win Texas is the same as it is everywhere else, and that is to tell the truth.”

In Austin on Monday, Carson spoke briefly about how he didn’t think he needed Secret Service protection, but that the Secret Service “thinks that I need it.”

On Tuesday, the retired neurosurgeon declined to talk publicly about personal security, but he did acknowledge that he’s sure “there have been significant threats.”

‘A wonderful president’

Betty Turner waited outside the Barnes & Noble for more than an hour Tuesday, hoping to meet Carson.

“I love him,” the 69-year-old Grapevine woman said. “He’s so honest and he means what he says. He stands behind what he says.

“I think he would be a wonderful president.”

Not everyone agrees.

“Ben Carson is out of touch with the needs of American families,” said Manny Garcia, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party. “He thinks Social Security — which helps millions of Americans — is like a ‘Ponzi scheme,’ wants to eliminate birthright citizenship, will authorize drone strikes on American soil for border security, and thinks the solution on student loans is for students to just work more.

“America’s middle and working class families need real, substantive solutions that help them get ahead.”

Jason Macedo believes that Carson could be the right person and the 44-year-old Weatherford man waited in line with Megan Hindman and their seven-month-old daughter, for the chance to shake his hand.

“I like everything he stands for. His message is positive,” he said. “He makes me proud to be an American.

“Trump is my No. 1 choice, Ben is No. 2,” he said. “I would love to see them both on the ballot. I think these two guys will help our country. They aren’t traditional politicians. … If one [leaves the race], the other one is still there, which is fantastic.”

A personal journey

For Carson, Tuesday’s book signing was a long journey from his childhood.

On Sunday, he told thousands gathered for the North Texas Presidential Forum in Plano that he was a “terrible student” at one point. But he gave his mother credit for helping turn that around.

She turned off the TV and made her sons check out two books every week from the library and write book reports on them for her. She edited the papers, putting check marks and underlining key words throughout the reports.

It wasn’t until later, Carson said, that he learned she couldn’t read.

But she accomplished her goal, Carson said.

“As I began reading the books, a real transition occurred,” he said. “I began to understand … that the person who has the most to do with how you do in life is you.

“I didn’t hate poverty after that,” he said. “I realized I had the ability to change it.”

‘Critical condition’

Carson, who has said he wrote his book to encourage more people to read the U.S. Constitution, said Tuesday that the problems of the country must be addressed now.

“We are in critical condition,” he said. “If we don’t get it straightened out right now, we might not get it straightened out.”

The 2016 election, he said, “will be the most clear-cut election in the history of America.”

Kathryn McMullen, a 65-year-old Burleson woman, posed for a photo beside Carson’s tour bus Tuesday after she had her book signed.

“I like that he’s a constitutional conservative,” she said. “I like a lot of his ideas.”

This story was originally published October 20, 2015 at 2:44 PM with the headline "Ben Carson says Texas is key to his GOP presidential bid."