--- title: Ben Carson's 2 Top Aides Resign description: Presidential candidate Ben Carson's two top aides, Doug Watts and Barry Bennett, just resigned from his campaign. canonical: https://time.com/4164999/ben-carson-top-aides-resign/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-31T17:47:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T21:17:14.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ben Carson's 2 Top Aides Resign og:description: Doug Watts and Barry Bennett resigned, effective immediately og:url: https://time.com/4164999/ben-carson-top-aides-resign/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9f704d569f60589/698870f0cd1bba0a9a6fe191/496697716.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Ben Carson Delivers Remarks At Liberty University Convocation og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ben Carson's 2 Top Aides Resign twitter:description: Doug Watts and Barry Bennett resigned, effective immediately twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9f704d569f60589/698870f0cd1bba0a9a6fe191/496697716.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ben Carson's 2 Top Aides Resign  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:17 PM UTCPublished: Dec 31, 2015 5:47 PM UTC  Dr. Ben Carson participates in a prayer during a rally at the University, on November 11, 2015 in Lynchburg, Virginia. Dr. Ben Carson participates in a prayer during a rally at the University, on November 11, 2015 in Lynchburg, Virginia.Mark Wilson—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:17 PM UTCPublished: Dec 31, 2015 5:47 PM UTC Presidential candidate Ben Carson’s two top aides just resigned from his campaign. Doug Watts and Barry Bennett, formerly Carson’s communications director and campaign manager, resigned Thursday, and according to Watts, the resignation is effective immediately. In a statement provided to TIME, Watts said, “We respect the candidate and we have enjoyed helping him go from far back in the field to top tier status. Having just announced raising $23 \[million\] for the 4th \[quarter\], more than any other Republican candidate, and passing 1 million contributions and and over 600,000 unique donors since March, we are proud of our efforts for Dr. Carson and we wish him and his campaign the best of luck.” Bennett, however, was more direct about his reasons for leaving. He told TIME, “This morning I called Ben and gave him the news that we had once again raised more money than any GOP candidate and had again beaten our own record. I then told him it was time for me to step down as I have come to understand I would never be able to solve the Armstrong Williams problem.” Tensions have reportedly been simmering in the Carson camp in recent weeks, as Williams, a confidant of Carson’s who does not have an official role in the campaign, has taken on a larger presence in the media. In late December, Carson warned of a shakeup in his campaign, [telling the Associated Press](http://time.com/4160572/ben-carson-campaign-shake-up/), “Every single thing is on the table. I’m looking carefully.” Williams said at the time, in an apparent dig at campaign staff, “Dr. Carson is back in charge, and I’m so happy to see that.” Carson put out a statement Thursday announcing Ed Brookover, who previously served as senior strategist, as the new campaign manager, and Major General Bob Dees as campaign chairman. “As we enter a new phase of the campaign cycle, it is necessary to invigorate my campaign with a strategy that more aggressively shares my vision and world-view with the American people,” Carson’s statement said. “I commend Barry Bennett and Doug Watts for their efforts to help me share my vision for America.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4164999/ben-carson-top-aides-resign/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4164999/ben-carson-top-aides-resign/"},"headline":"Ben Carson's 2 Top Aides Resign","datePublished":"2015-12-31T17:47:44.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T21:17:14.000Z","description":"Doug Watts and Barry Bennett resigned, effective immediately","url":"https://time.com/4164999/ben-carson-top-aides-resign/","keywords":["2016 Election topic","Dr. Benjamin S. Carson"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9f704d569f60589/698870f0cd1bba0a9a6fe191/496697716.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9f704d569f60589/698870f0cd1bba0a9a6fe191/496697716.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ben Carson Delivers Remarks At Liberty University Convocation","caption":"Ben Carson Delivers Remarks At Liberty University Convocation","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4164999/ben-carson-top-aides-resign/","name":"Ben Carson's 2 Top Aides Resign"}}]}] ```