Quiet Downtown Concord Stroll for Carson

Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson stopped by Concord’s picturesque Main Street on July 8, to meet with store merchants and voters while attempting to win New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

Carson, along with his wife, campaign supporters, as well as local field organizers, checked out the grounds of the Statehouse and met with some students from the Broken Ground Elementary School in the plaza.

But it was a relatively quiet adventure for the pediatric neurosurgeon since there were few people on Main Street. A local politico joked that the Complete Streets Main Street project had done exactly what everyone expected it would do … it turned Concord’s Main Street into a ghost town.

However, Carson was able to have a few conversations. He stopped by the Eagle Square Deli and spoke with customers and employees, while also dodging a quick passing rainstorm and admiring the historic preservation work in the square and The Hamel Center, Museum of New Hampshire History.

At Orange Leaf, he was asked if he wanted to sample some of the frozen yogurt but declined, stating it would “spoil my appetite.” He added though that frozen yogurt was a fun food that people needed to enjoy once and a while.

Carson also checked out the New England College satellite office on Main Street meeting with students and faculty working in the incubator space.

When asked if running for president is more difficult than neurosurgery, he said it wasn’t.

“Running for president, many people feel, is extremely grueling,” he said. “But compared to working 12 to 16 hour days, for decades at a time, and juggling multiple lives, with every decision … it’s a piece of cake.”