(CN) - Dr. Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who once led the polls in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, on Friday officially suspended his campaign.
The announcement, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., was widely expected, coming two days after he announced he did "not see a political path forward" following his last place finishes in several Super Tuesday contests.
Carson isn't walking completely away from the political area, however. Also on Friday he announced that he will serve as national chairman of My Faith Votes, a nonpartisan organization focused on getting Christian Americans to the polls.
"Nothing is more important to me than my personal faith, and it is my faith that motivated me to be involved in the political process to begin with," Carson said in a statement.
"I believe Christians in this country can easily determine the next president of the United States and all other national and local leaders, should they simply show up at the polls," he added.
At the CPAC conference, he ended his campaign on a bittersweet note:
"Even though I might be leaving the campaign trail, you know there's a lot of people who love me, they just won't vote for me. But I will still continue to be heavily involved in trying to save our nation," he said.
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