Leah Wright Rigueur ― What explains Ben Carson? The long tradition of black conservatism.

Professor Leah Wright Rigueur, an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and author of "The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power" pens a piece for the Washington Post's “Monkey Cage” blog responding to Ben Carson's appeal to white conservatives.

 via The Washington Post:

"According to recent polls, Ben Carson has surged in popularity among likely Republican voters and now finds himself at the top of the GOP presidential primary pack. A recent poll of Iowa Republicans, for example, found Carson tied with Donald Trump for first place. That an African American that has never held political office is now a front-runner in the Republican primaries has surprised many observers. 

But his candidacy is perhaps less surprising if you consider two things: the long traditional of black conservatism in America, and how black Republicans like Carson have often appealed to largely white voters."

Read the full article HERE.