Dr. Ben Carson hosts town hall meeting in Lexington

Published: Feb. 29, 2016 at 5:25 AM EST
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Dr. Ben Carson on Monday took his campaign to Lexington with just six days until Kentucky's Republican presidential caucus.

The soft-spoken retired neurosurgeon spoke to an estimated crowd of 1,000 people at a town hall meeting at High Intensity Training Center on Ruccio Way.

During a 30-minute speech, Carson focused on high incarceration rates, the abuse of government benefits, breaking the cycle of poverty and the importance of education.

He says many people in the country are draining the system, but they don't need a brain doctor, they need an attitude adjustment.

When asked specifically about Donald Trump and other Republican candidates, Carson did not go after them.

However, he didn't hold back on Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. He says they want to take money from "evil rich people" to solve income disparity. Instead, he says the problem is with "evil government regulations."

Carson said he believes the biggest problem facing Kentucky is its financial state.

"The really big concerns are financial concerns but obviously that's the case with everybody. The interesting thing is I don't think it will be difficult to fix at all. It's about creating an environment that encourages entrepreneurial risk taking and capital investment," said Carson.

With Super Tuesday and the Kentucky caucus on Saturday, it's a critical week for Carson's campaign.

While he is trailing in the polls, he says he isn't giving up because he thinks we will see surprising results from Super Tuesday.

"There's a lot of momentum and I think even more newcomers are getting a closer look at the candidates and they're seeing who acts presidential and who acts like something else," he said.

Some voters say they don't think he will win the nomination in July but they are still supporting him because they admire his Christian faith and his humility.