--- title: Ben Carson Leaves New Hampshire Before Primary Polls Close description: Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson is leaving New Hampshire before polls close in the state’s primary on Tuesday, his campaign said canonical: https://time.com/4214701/ben-carson-new-hampshire/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-09T22:52:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T09:12:31.689Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ben Carson Leaves New Hampshire For South Carolina Before Polls Close og:description: He had left Iowa early to "get some fresh clothes" og:url: https://time.com/4214701/ben-carson-new-hampshire/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bb863bf28533edc/69887ce4cd1bba29fc6ff585/ben-carson-new-hampshire1.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Ben Carson Holds Campaign Event In Manchester, NH og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ben Carson Leaves New Hampshire For South Carolina Before Polls Close twitter:description: He had left Iowa early to "get some fresh clothes" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bb863bf28533edc/69887ce4cd1bba29fc6ff585/ben-carson-new-hampshire1.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ben Carson Leaves New Hampshire for South Carolina Before Polls Close  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 9, 2016 10:52 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks to reporters after stopping at The Airport Diner on Feb. 7, 2016 in Manchester, New Hampshire. Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks to reporters after stopping at The Airport Diner on Feb. 7, 2016 in Manchester, New Hampshire.Matthew Cavanaugh-Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 9, 2016 10:52 PM UTC Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson is [leaving New Hampshire before polls close](http://www.politico.com/blogs/new-hampshire-primary-2016-live-updates/2016/02/ben-carson-skips-new-hampshire-party-219001) in the state’s primary on Tuesday, his campaign said in a statement. The retired neurosurgeon is headed to South Carolina “after several stops meeting with New Hampshire voters, supporters and media today,” the statement said. The announcement comes after some of rival Ted Cruz’s supporters allegedly told Iowa caucus-goers earlier this month that [Carson was dropping out of the race](http://time.com/4203730/ben-carson-ted-cruz-caucus-dirty-tricks/). Carson had instead left the campaign trail to go home to Florida to “[get some fresh clothes](http://time.com/4203578/iowa-caucus-2016-ben-carson/).” “During such a crucial campaign for America’s future, it’s sad to see the press more pre-occupied with dissecting the minutia of his schedule than reporting on his proposals to reinvigorate the country,” Carson’s campaign team said. “As he continues on to South Carolina and beyond, he will do so with a renewed energy from the faith and support of the many great individuals he met across New Hampshire.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4214701/ben-carson-new-hampshire/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4214701/ben-carson-new-hampshire/"},"headline":"Ben Carson Leaves New Hampshire for South Carolina Before Polls Close","datePublished":"2016-02-09T22:52:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:12:31.689Z","description":"He had left Iowa early to \"get some fresh clothes\"","url":"https://time.com/4214701/ben-carson-new-hampshire/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","Dr. Benjamin S. 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